From Pebbles to Stones
by Bronwyn O'Reilly
Summary: The journey from Ered Luin to the Shire may not be an epic quest, but for two Dwarves who have yet to see battle, it will be quite the trial. Hidden catacombs, suspicious monsters and irritating rocks await Fíli and Kíli in their first exploration of the outside world.
1. Amber

**Chapter One: Amber**

There is a stone in his boot.

Don't ask him how it got there. Fíli doesn't know, but cares dreadfully, because it's bloody annoying and they can't stop until they reach lower ground. It's right at that spot between toe and arch where it hits his foot every single time he steps down, and like usual, Kíli is not helping.

"It's just a stone, let it be," the brown haired nuisance says. "You can get it out once we set up camp. It's not going to kill you."

Fíli, in a fit of supreme maturity, sticks his tongue out and pulls a face. "It's just a stone," he mimics. His impression of his brother is uncanny. "It's just a stone _that's been digging into my foot for the last four hours. _We have been walking for seven, will be walking for three more, and I am _not _going to have this _bloody thing _in my boot for any longer."

Kíli frowns, but then holds up his hands in a mock surrender as his features loosen into a smile. "Alright, alright, hold your horses. Actually, how about I hold your horse while you get it out. Only do it fast, these parts aren't friendly."

Fíli gives a sigh of relief and drops where he stands, throwing his pony's reins at Kíli before pulling at his boot laces. Dwarf boots are sturdy things, but his has a small hole in the sole that lets in anything from water to rocks to leaves. Kíli has offered to mend it before, but until the entire sole has fallen off and the boot is a complete mess, Fíli isn't going to waste time, or effort.

He tugs it off his foot and peers inside, trying to find the irritating stone in the dark cavern. It is harder than expected, so he ends up flipping it around the other way and slamming his hand on the heel to try and dislodge it. It works, and a stone the size of his eye drops out with a satisfying 'thunk'.

He raises his eyebrows in faint surprise. The stone hadn't felt that large while in his boot, which is odd considering how most often they feel larger. It's also rather pretty, for a lump of rock, so he shrugs and picks it up again. It disappears into one of the pockets of his coat, not even making a bulge in the thick material. Perhaps it could be a souvenir for the trip.

He grins and pulls his boot on again, taking far longer to tie up the laces this time to annoy his brother. It works. Kíli makes an exasperated sound at the back of his throat and wanders off along the mountain path they're following.

"Kíli!" Fíli rolls his eyes and quickly finishes tying. "That eager, are you? I didn't know you liked, what are they, Hoobits?"

Kíli spins around, jaw dropping before he begins to laugh hysterically. "Hoobits? HOBBITS, Fíli, not Hoo-"

He doesn't even finish the sentence before succumbing to laughter once again. Fíli slams a hand into his face, trying desperately not to feel like an idiot. It doesn't work, unsurprisingly, but he is soon laughing along with Kíli as they set off again along the trail. The younger's laughter is infectious.

They had set off nearly a week and a half ago, riding their ponies where able and walking elsewhere. Their uncle and liege, Thorin, had set off on some mysterious pre-quest a month ago, and they were to meet him in a place called the Shire. From what Thorin had told him and what he had overheard, Fíli assumed that he was off trying to find others for his quest to retake Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. The Wizard, more commonly known as Gandalf, would mark the door of the house where they would find the final member of their company, and there they would congregate then set off together.

Fíli doesn't particularly mind spending long hours on the road, so long as he has some form of company beginning with 'Kí' and ending in 'li'. If it splits their paths – no. All deals are off, and he isn't going anywhere.

His mother hadn't been particularly happy with allowing either of them to leave, due to their youth, but Fíli had managed to convince her. For that matter, neither had Thorin, but even he admitted that they would probably need all the hands they could get, and Fíli and Kíli had to see the outside world at some point.

"Hurry up, you'll fall behind!" calls Kíli over his shoulder, and Fíli realises with a start that he has been gradually slowing down while looking at the scenery around him. With a shake of his head, he pulls forward and takes his pony's reins back from Kíli.

"I keep telling you to get that boot fixed," remarks his brother. "I'm not stopping for you again."

"Don't be ridiculous, you'll always stop." This is said with rock-sure certainty. Kíli can tease all he likes, but he can't fool his brother. It had only needed to happen once before Fíli was having none of it.

Kíli twists so that his quiver hits Fíli around the head. It takes Fíli by surprise and he sputters a bit, blinking and rubbing the side of his face. Then with a challenging growl he leans sideways and flips Kíli's hair over his face, making sure to unfasten the clasp and pocket it so it didn't hinder him. This time it is Kíli's turn to sputter, although through his hair it sounds more like some kind of sneeze.

Or perhaps it was actually a sneeze.

Kíli shakes his head and glares at Fíli, brushing hair out of his eyes and pinning it at the nape of his neck with his hand. He must have registered the missing clasp, as his next words are, "Fíli, give it back."

Fíli raises his eyebrows. "Give what back?" he asks innocently. "Are you missing something? Check the ground, things fall down all the time."

Kíli isn't fooled and sticks his other hand out demandingly, a habit that has remained since his childhood. "Fíli…" he says warningly, before a wicked glint sets in his eye and a rather worrying grin forms.

Fíli glances behind him and backs up a little. "Oh, no, I don't know what you're thinking, but it's a bad idea."

It's Kíli's turn to look innocent. "Bad idea? All my ideas are good ones, it's yours that get us into trouble."

"Brother, my ideas only get us into trouble because yours would have gotten us into even more."

"I take offense at that. My ideas are perfectly fine. You only get to say no because you're the older one."

"Oh, is that what this is about? I'm so sorry, _little brother, _but even I can't change that sort of thing."

"Even I?" Kíli looks more amused now that irritated. "You're not very modest, are you?"

"You'd know all about modesty."

Kíli frowns, seeming to register that yes, Fíli is most definitely mocking him. Neither of them are the wisest of dwarves, but sometimes Fíli thinks that Kíli might have been hit on the head one too many times as a baby. Either that or sarcasm is just so foreign to his straightforward nature that he has trouble picking it up.

"Anyway, let's hurry on," Fíli says quickly. "We need to reach somewhere to camp for the night before it gets dark." He pushes past him with what he hopes is the same kind of majesty that Thorin seems to have patented, but the effect is spoiled as Kíli suddenly throws himself at him from behind. He feels arms wrap around his middle as he pitches forward, and they begin to tussle in earnest. It's childish and silly, but Kíli _is _a child and Fíli _is _a bit silly, so it's perfectly justified, or at least that's what he tells himself.

"Good thing we left early," Fíli laughs, pinning Kíli down and grinning widely at his struggles. "Wouldn't do to be late because of moments like this, would it?"

Kíli relaxes and grins back. "At this rate, we won't arrive until mid-winter!"

"Then we best be off, shouldn't we?"

Fíli rolls off and stands up, with more grace than his brother but less energy. He was naturally as energetic as Kíli, but years spent being an older brother and shouldering the responsibility as Thorin's heir has left him calmer and slightly wiser. Kíli, being the younger and therefore less burdened, still retains that childish and passionate edge.

He grabs his pony's reins and begins off again, glancing back once to make sure Kíli is behind him.

The Blue Mountains are beautiful in their own way, and Fíli is quite used to their terrain and general layout, but seeing the same scenery for hours on end gets very boring, very quickly, and he starts to wonder how long it will take before they finally reach the foothills. He also wonders what the Shire will be like. And what, precisely, are hobbits?

Time passes. Kíli laughs when Fíli finds another stone in his boot, and Fíli laughs when Kíli manages to get his quiver tangled in low lying branches.

"I suppose travelling to Erebor is going to be more interesting than this," Kíli mutters, kicking at a rock. "Because if it's not I really don't understand why Thorin didn't want us to come."

Fíli sends him a warning glance. "There are more dangers out there than you think."

"You haven't left the Mountains either, how do you know?"

"Because Thorin has told me more than he has told you, and I learnt his lessons well."

Kíli frowns. "I pay attention!"

"Yes, you do, but you don't read between the lines. Don't worry – it's not a bad thing. You just haven't had as much practice as I have." Fíli chuckles and reaches over to ruffle the dark hair. "You may not think it, but five years is a long time."

"Five years is nothing," Kíli says with what Fíli recognises as a pout. He tells him this, and it disappears immediately. "I'm nearly eighty, five years is barely a difference anymore."

"But it is still a difference."

Kíli has no argument for that, so Fíli lets the subject drop. As the terrain slowly even out, the sun sinks behind the horizon, and they both hurriedly seek for somewhere to camp for the night.

"Over here!" Fíli calls, finding a nook in one side of a hill that looks large enough for both them and the ponies. It's sheltered from the wind, would provide a barrier against any rain, and most importantly, its inconspicuous. He doesn't go in just yet, knowing Kíli wouldn't find him if he did.

Kíli trawls over and nods before slipping inside and peering around. Fíli can barely see him, his dark appearance blends in so smoothly.

"See anything?"

Kíli's night vision is better than Fíli's, perhaps due to the fact that Kíli has a tendency to keep his eyes slightly wider open. Fíli doesn't know where this odd little trait came from, but it's been very useful in all sorts of situations, so he doesn't complain. They each have their strengths.

"It's clear. You can bring Red and Arrow in."

Red and Arrow are the ponies. Red is Fíli's and Arrow Kíli's, and they're both notorious for their stubborn tempers.

Fíli goes in, manoeuvring himself just so, and lets the ponies in before moving a small boulder in front of the entrance. It will stop the ponies leaving but not constrict the Dwarves' line of sight, which Fíli thinks is rather a good idea considering where they are.

He rolls his pack of his shoulders and pulls out some of the kindling he stashed between clasp and pack. He'd stopped to grab likely looking firewood earlier, rightly guessing that they'd forget to stop until the sun was already down.

Kíli does the same, and soon they have a small fire going at the front and centre of the cave. Fíli doesn't hesitate to wrench his boots off and stick his feet towards the flames, sighing as he feels the warmth sink into his bones. He has been cursed with cold extremities, as his father was before him, and dislikes it immensely.

Kíli's smile looks eerily demonic in the shadow of the flames. "You were waiting for this, weren't you?" he asks teasingly.

"I was indeed." Fíli shrugs his shoulders with a little smile, before looking questionably at Kíli. "You're not actually cold, are you?"

Kíli pokes his tongue out. "Not in the slightest."

Fíli sighs and then laughs, gesturing his brother over to sit beside him. "Well, then, seeing as you aren't cold, you have been put in charge of dinner."

"You aren't serious."

"I'm perfectly serious. Wouldn't want my cold hands doing it now, would you?" To prove his point, Fíli leans over and clasps the part of Kíli's wrist that isn't currently protected by layers of leather and cloth. Kíli wrenches back with a little hiss, and scowls at him.

"Your hands," he says in a serious manner reminiscent of their mother, "are bloody freezing."

It is almost like a royal proclamation, which makes Fíli laugh. The idea of Kíli standing above the masses with a crown on his head is too far from the norm that it takes on a rather ludicrous edge. Kíli will never be majestic. He's too full of energy.

However, Kíli does begin to search among their packs for some form of sustenance that Fíli lets it go. While he may never be as good a cook as their uncle's friend Bombur, Kíli isn't that bad, as long as no one asks him to try and cook anything more difficult than a stew. And his rabbit is second to none, Fíli can attest to.

Clearly spending half their childhood pinching food from the kitchen paid off.

Fíli begins to strip off his leathers, rolling his shoulders slowly to ease the kinks out. Leather is heavy, even for a Dwarf, and wearing it does put quite a bit of stress on various pressure points. He hooks what he can on a few pieces of rock that jut out from the wall, making sure to hang them at such a height that they won't get in the way of any movement.

"Do you have everything you need from these?" he asks of Kíli, holding up their packs. His brother nods, so he takes them over to begin to unpack their bedrolls.

He's halfway through spreading them out when he smells the beginning of a rather small stew wafting over from above the fire. He fires Kíli an appreciative thumbs up and hastily shoves the bedrolls out to make room.

A while later, Kíli passes him a bowl and drops down beside him, before beginning to tug off his own boots.

Silence descends as they eat, except for the crackling of the fire, the snuffling of the horses as they munch on apples, and the sounds wafting in from outside. It's a companionable silence, though, because there's nothing that particularly needs to be said and despite others' impressions, Fíli and Kíli do not actually talk a lot between them. There's very little that needs to be said.

"It's going to rain," Kíli notes, slightly despondently. The younger doesn't like rain very much, although Fíli doesn't really care either way.

"At least that way we can wash these easily," he points out, holding up his bowl.

Kíli makes an odd sort of sideways shrug. Fíli takes it to mean acquiescence and leans back, staring up at the ceiling of the cave. There are small veins of various different minerals running through it, and Fíli amuses himself by trying to guess what they are on observation alone.

He watches as Kíli grabs both bowls and drops them next to the empty stew pot. There's a stiffness around the way his brother moves that shows that he's as tired as Fíli is, and Fíli is quick to help him douse the fire and ready them both for another night on the road.

They have a rather peculiar way of sleeping when out of the safety of civilisation or other companions, which greatly amuses their mother and even makes Thorin's lips twitch into a hidden smirk. They sleep back to back, sometimes with Fíli's arm slung over Kíli's side or Kíli's hair itching Fíli's arm. It's for both comfort and safety – both get twitchy when they can't locate the other, and there's no point on setting a watch with only two people. This way, if something wakes one it wakes the other, and either one will be able to see it from the two vantage points.

Fíli is just at that point of half awareness that comes before slumber when he feels Kíli's elbow dig lightly into his side.

"Fíli," his brother says in a rather tight voice, "look around."

He does.

"Was that passage way there the whole time?"

Fíli peers over to where Kíli is looking and his lips press together involuntarily. On the wall of the cave in front of them is a slit in the rock, slightly taller than the average Man, leading deeper into what they had first thought to be nothing but a nook.

"You see it?"

"I see it."

He gets up, picking up one of his swords just in case. Caves can be dangerous places, even Kíli knows that, especially ones that haven't been thoroughly searched or stabilised. He notices Kíli making two torches out of the corner of his eye and nods at his taking the initiative.

"Do we search it?"

He nods again.

"Now?"

"I think we'll have to. There could be something behind it, and it could be hostile."

He sees a familiar look of intensity cross his brother's features, the one he gets when heading into danger. It's part worry, part resolution and part excitement. He knows a similar look is on his own face, and he takes a deep breath.

"Follow me," he says quietly, before taking a torch and slipping into the dark.

**A/N: This is the beginning of a prequel of sorts for Fíli and Kíli's journey to the Shire. It's not going to be incredibly angst-ridden, torturous or gruelling, because they're in the bloom of health at the beginning of The Hobbit, so no promises there. However, it is an adventure story, so it's not going to be peaceful!**

**Thank you for reading, and please review!**


	2. Citrine

**Chapter Two: Citrine**

Kíli is not claustrophobic, because he is a Dwarf. He just happens to prefer being in larger spaces than pressed between walls without room to swing a dagger. This is something only Fíli knows – not even their mother is privy to that piece of information.

Light makes it better. The torch in his hand burns slowly, but surely, illuminating the hewn walls of the tunnel he and Fíli are exploring. There are sure signs of humanoid involvement along the rock, as the ground beneath his feet is fairly even and the walls are lacking the usual stalactites and stalagmites that come with natural caves. The roof is a few feet above his head, and as he glances up he notes where the rock has been raised to accommodate larger forms.

The stonework between the walls and roof is different, however, and he runs a hand along one side. Smooth. He can't reach the ceiling, but it's visibly more jagged and rough than before. Two different hands sculpted this tunnel.

Fíli hasn't noticed, but Kíli doesn't bother to inform him. They have more pressing concerns at the moment, and Fíli needs to keep his entire attention forward. Kíli has sharper eyes, and is often delegated into following and noting anything of importance. The maker of the tunnel is certainly a fact he considers important, and for reasons other than professional curiousity.

Dwarf-made tunnels tend to be smoother, more winding and follow the natural order of how the mountain flows, as it were. A Dwarf will follow the seams of rock, making sure to stabilise as he goes and take note of where possible minerals will be. Dwarves will also dig down, searching deeper and deeper into the mountain. They are not constrained by claustrophobia or darkness, as a Dwarf's vision was made for the deep.

Man-made tunnels will almost always go straight in and out of the mountain they were built into. Sometimes they follow the rock, but most often they don't, carving towards where precious minerals and gems are likely to be hidden. The stonework is rough, but sturdy, although cave-ins are more common. The tunnels of Men do not delve deep, either, preferring to stick closer to the surface where they can access light faster.

Goblin- and Orc-made tunnels are very industrial. They dig straight down, quickly hitting whatever they search for and setting up rather shaky pulley systems to pull up the findings. They care not for the mountain, for the stone, or for the state of their cargo. The tunnels are often only offshoots of the mine, perhaps leading to storage areas or rooms for sorting. Neither race digs for complexity.

Elves do not, as a rule, dig tunnels.

And so Kíli examines the walls, noting the characteristics of both methods and concludes that while the lower half was once natural, it has been hollowed and stabilised by Dwarven hands. The cave roof is natural, but the stalactites were filed off until nothing but stubs remained. The work is shoddy, however, and lacks the finesse that comes from the Dwarves. Men, then, have been working on this tunnel after the Dwarves finished.

They walk further, and Kíli notices the downwards slope of the floor. They are heading into the heart of the mountain, then, so it was almost definitely originally carved by a Dwarf.

There are no markings on the walls, or at least none that Kíli's eyes can see, which leads him to believe that this was quite possible a back entrance, or a hunters exit that was rarely used and only created for a single person or party. It's not the main entrance by any means, as there isn't enough ornamentation or grandiose.

Fíli stops and Kíli stumbles slightly trying not to run into him. The older Dwarf has noticed something.

"Can you feel that?" Fíli whispers, pressing a hand to the wall and leaning against it. His eyes narrow, and something catches in them. Recognition.

Kíli mimics his movement but shuts his eyes. Faint vibrations shake through the rock, so faint he can barely make them out, and he presses closer to determine the source.

"A pick," Fíli answers for him, guessing the confusion. "Only, it's swung differently. There's less space between the strikes. They're not aiming."

Kíli opens his eyes and meets his brothers. Where there is a pick there is a wielder, which means that this cave is inhabited. They haven't seen signs of anyone yet, though, or at least Kíli hasn't, and he's the one who's been paying attention.

It's still far off, judging by the faintness in the vibrations, so Kíli nods and motions for Fíli to go on. Until they find the source it's only a fact to be stored away, not acted on.

They continue, torches burning away as they navigate through the corridor. So far there haven't been any intersections, reinforcing Kíli's theory that it's just a hunter's trail and not a well-used path of entry. He can see Fíli becoming tenser, touching the wall every now and then as if to reassert the position of the miner.

Suddenly the tunnel begins to widen, and the light from the torches illuminates a fork stretching in two directions. Kíli pushes forward, slipping past Fíli and placing a hand to the stone on both sides to see which is conducting the vibrations from the strange pick.

He nods his head to the left with a jerk, but before he can stand and move off Fíli places a hand on his shoulder, staying his movement. He looks up; Fíli doesn't often veto exploration.

He allows himself to be pulled back along the way they came, Fíli gently tugging on his sleeve. Kíli frowns slightly at his brother, cocking his head to the side slightly, but Fíli just shakes his head and keeps moving. The tunnel is familiar going back, and Kíli doesn't have to pay so much attention to where he places his feet, or what the walls look like, or where Fíli is going. Familiarity is comforting.

Soon they are back at the original cave. Kíli tugs his arm out of Fíli's grip and turns to face him. "We aren't going on any further?"

Fíli shakes his head, pulling on one of the braids of his moustache. "No, I don't think it's wise. We have no way of marking our trail and we need to sleep. There's no one in close proximity and that corridor clearly isn't used very often, so there's not much of a chance of someone from inside stumbling across us. In all honesty, I'd be far more worried about people coming in from the outside."

Kíli looks away, running this over in his head. It seems reasonable enough. He is tired, and they will need to have a guidance system or some method of tracking their progress or they'd just get lost underground. It has happened before, even in populated tunnels filled with busy Dwarves, so Fíli is right in being cautious.

"Agreed," Kíli says. "Could we explore it tomorrow? We could leave whatever we don't need and some food with the ponies here, then have a look through the tunnels with more preparation."

Fíli looks doubtful, but reluctantly agrees. As if on cue, his eyes shut and he lets out a rather large yawn, reminding Kíli that it was him who woke his brother in the first place.

"Keep an eye on the opening while you can," Fíli says, snuffing out his torch and dropping his sword back where they'd placed the rest of their gear. He is on the ground and asleep in seconds.

Kíli smiles with no small touch of amusement. Fíli, when tired, is notorious for falling asleep immediately and with little ado, no matter where he is or what company he keeps. Kíli has seen him fall asleep at the forge, during a meal, even while trekking through the forest surrounding their home in Ered Luin. Once, after a long night working on a gift for their mother's birthday, he even watched in fascinated horror as Fíli slowly but surely slid sideways and fell asleep right on their uncle Thorin. That had been a day to remember.

Kíli collapses beside him, readjusting Fíli's arm so that he wasn't lying on it. The slit leading into the passageway lurks in the shadows of the cave wall, and Kíli shivers slightly before shutting his eyes to get some much needed sleep.

The night passes uneventfully, with no beasts or vengeful assassins or goblins slipping into their cave to cut their throats. The ponies don't escape, no spiders crawl up next to them, and all in all it is very much like every other day on the road.

Kíli is woken by Fíli wandering around the cave, packing away their washed bowls.

"I'm leaving some food for Red and Arrow over there," Fíli says, not even bothering to glance over at Kíli to check if he really is awake. "Make yourself useful and sort out our weapons, would you?"

Kíli scowls at his back, pulling a face and reaching up in a lazy stretch. He is deeply tempted to simply roll over and go back to sleep, but time waits for no Dwarf, and so he soon finds himself running around after Fíli, occasionally sticking his head inside the gap to the tunnel to check if anything exciting has happened between the time they last went in and the present.

"Kíli, focus," Fíli says, batting him around the head lightly and shoving his weapons into his arms. "If you want to explore, you'll need those."

Kíli hastily straps on his sword and bow, adjusting his quiver so that the feathers don't get caught in his hair. "How are we going to mark out where we've been?"

Fíli grins, a satisfied smirk that is lit up by the morning sun streaming in. "Remember that stone from my boot? The one you wouldn't let me stop to take out?"

"Yes, but I fail to see how that's going to be any help. You'd need hundreds of them to leave a trail."

"It fell out of the pocket of my coat last night." Fíli sails on, ignoring Kíli's statement. "I noticed it as I was pulling on my boots again. It has a white streak."

Kíli frowns, then realises what Fíli means. "We can use it like chalk," he says excitedly. "Draw arrows pointing where we went, or mark the corridors. Can I try it?"

Fíli shakes his head, patting his pocket to alert Kíli where he keeps it. "No, I don't want to waste any. It's not a large rock and we haven't got more to use. If we run out, we'll have to give it all up and head back out again."

Kíli sighs, knowing that the blond is right. "Alright. Is everything packed up or did I forget something?"

They do a final sweep of the cave and give the ponies an apple each, before shouldering what they need, lighting their torches, and setting off into the darkness once again.

Fíli leads, as is the norm, and Kíli follows, making sure to double check that the passage remains undisturbed. After a while they reach the junction they discovered the night before, and Fíli takes out the marking stone. It's a rather pale lump of rock, but Kíli thinks it looks rather promising by the light of the torches. Fíli reaches down and draws a small arrow pointing towards the tunnel to the right, which leads further into the mountain as opposed to the left, which appears to skim the surface.

Kíli accepts his brother's decision without a second thought. Fíli is always right, always has been, always will be. He has never had cause to doubt his brother's judgement in serious situations.

They go on, Kíli trailing a hand along the cave walls, trying to feel vibrations like the ones they felt the previous night. There are very slight shakes, but Kíli reckons it's probably due to their own footsteps rather than more activity down the tunnel.

The darkness widens once again, and they find themselves at another junction, only this time there are three corridors running off from a central alcove. One of them has signs of being created with more effort than the others, so Kíli points towards that one and raises his eyebrows. Fíli nods, leaves a mark, and ventures on.

Kíli looks around at the stonework, noting the distinctly Dwarven chisel marks down at his feet, lining the base of both walls. The smoothness of the ground they tread on, however, was clearly not made by any tool, so he wonders if perhaps there had once been an underground stream. Probably not, but it would account for the almost unnatural lack of rocks, pebbles or juts.

As they travel through the mountain, more and more intersections crop up, each with one more corridor spanning off than the one before it. Kíli starts to get nervous, finding the strange pattern of the tunnels more eerie than puzzling. He has seen such tunnel designs before, in the plans of Erebor that their mother Dís still has. They were meant to confuse the intruder unless they had been there before and knew which tunnels to take. Many interconnect, however, so Kíli takes heart in the fact that they have yet to come across one of Fíli's markings again.

Fíli strides ahead of him, far more confident than Kíli thinks he should be, although that could well be due to his own tension. Fíli has always been sure of himself, in that comforting way that only some people, be they Man or Dwarf or Elf, retain. If Kíli had to pick the trait that makes his brother Fíli, it would be his surety, and he reveres him for it.

Suddenly the vibrations begin again. Kíli freezes, one hand reaching out to grab the back of Fíli's coat, and presses his ear to the wall. They're much closer to the source than before, and Kíli can feel the shivers running up his spine from the rock. He meets Fíli's eyes, triumphant smile twitching on his lips.

"We're close," he breathes, not daring to make any more noise than possible.

Fíli nods, and points to Kíli's torch. "Snuff it out. That way there's less of a chance of them noticing us." His tone is as quiet as Kíli's.

Kíli nods and hastily dampens the torch, strapping what's left of the wood to his belt. They move forward with more caution and far less speed, keeping one hand on the wall to locate the vibrations.

The corridor widens until it is closer to a hall than a tunnel, and they trade glances. Kíli peers into the gloom and notes faint sparkles on the walls that mean veins of minerals, although without a proper examination he can't quite tell what they are.

They turn a corner and abruptly come face to face with a sheer rock wall. Kíli's jaw drops, his eyes widening in shock.

"A dead end?" he asks, moving forward to stand next to Fíli and run his hands over the wall. It's smooth, lacking the usual bumps and dips of natural rock. "Or a door?"

Fíli drops to one knee, searching the base of the rock for cracks. "There's a thin line, not noticeable to anyone unfamiliar with stonework, which is probably where the opens. Start searching for a switch while I try and see if there's anything beyond it."

Kíli nods, taking Fíli's torch and peering at the walls. The door is Dwarven made, obviously, although the occupants of whatever lies behind clearly aren't Dwarves. This means that it would have to be something that even a Man could find, or perhaps a Goblin or Orc.

It doesn't take longer than four minutes for Kíli to find the switch. A personal record, definitely.

"Oh, so that's where you're hiding," he says under his breath, grinning triumphantly as he kneels down and inspects a filed away stalagmite. "Very nice, Master Architect, _very _nice."

He taps Fíli on the shoulder and the other turns, taking one look at where he's kneeling before nodding and moving out of the way of the door. Fíli snuffs his own torch just as Kíli presses down on the hidden button.

The whole wall begins to move, sliding upwards until it's barely an inch above Kíli's head. The process is silent and smooth, and Kíli mentally congratulates the designer. These catacombs may be fairly old, but the machinery is still in pristine condition.

They slip into the antechamber, looking around with professional curiousity. It's a small room, with a door leading off into what Kíli presumes to be a larger hall, the source of the vibrations. The walls are chiselled to perfection, and as Kíli runs his hand over them he feels no resistance. There are two pillars in the centre, holding up the cave roof as much as serving as decoration, and he marvels at the workmanship.

Fíli points towards the opening with a questioning glance. The message is clear – do you want to risk going into the main hall?

Kíli ponders his answer. He wants to, but if there's danger then in all honesty they haven't the numbers to make it out again. But he doesn't want to disappoint his brother, so with a nod he stealthily moves forward until he is peering into what looks like the biggest room he has ever seen.

It's gigantic, enormous, with huge sturdy pillars holding up a cave floor that towers over them by at least ten meters. Veins of silvery metal radiate out from the centre, creeping out not unlike the branches of a tree, and Kíli can hear Fíli audibly gasp beside him. The hall is almost spherical, with convex walls dipping into the sides of the hall and scaffolding still in place along the more mineral-rich places.

Kíli's eyes are fixated on the magnificence of the cavern, and he finds himself moving forward as if in a trance. Fíli shoots out a hand and drags him back, hissing, "Kíli! The vibrations are still coming, there's still a miner in there!"

Kíli freezes, blinking in startled horror. He's heard tales of Dwarves being so entranced by treasure that they ignore everything else around them, but he'd never thought that they might actually be true. It always seemed to strange, to material. Yet he is a Dwarf, and he has just been captured by the splendour of a cavern filled with –

"It's mithril," Fíli breathes, awe in his voice. Kíli turns to stare at his brother, both eyes reflecting their stunned state. The amount of mithril in this cavern alone would rival that found in Erebor, or Moria, surely.

They press their backs against the wall and sink down, movement completely in sync. Kíli reaches out and grabs Fíli's arm, gripping tighter than he would normally, and bites down the urge to laugh hysterically. They can't afford to make more noise than absolutely necessary.

"Kíli," says Fíli seriously, "I think we've just discovered more wealth than we could ever dream of."

And, as much as he wishes it weren't true, Kíli agrees.

**A/N: Thank you so, so much to anyone who read or reviewed, followed or favourited. I have the whole thing plotted out by this point, so it is going places, if slowly! Expect more action in the next chapter.**

**- Bronwyn**


	3. Staurolite

**Chapter Three: Staurolite**

Fíli leans his head back against the cold rock, staring up at the ceiling. Kíli's hold on his arm is shaking, but he can't tell whether it's from him or his brother.

"Do we go in?" asks Kíli breathlessly, and Fíli glances at him out of the corner of his eye. He looks excited, his hands shaking as he brushes his fringe from his eyes. Part of Fíli understands, and feels the same energy rush through his veins, but the other, the responsible side, can't. Neither of them has seen battle, and extensive training is no substitute for real experience. If they go in and are spotted, the likelihood of them not making is out again is greater than that of escaping.

Suddenly the sound of the pick ceases, and Fíli can just make out stomping feet and a sharp whistle. The two Dwarves press themselves back into the cave wall as Kíli peers around the doorway, and he hopes beyond hope that the miner isn't coming their way.

Kíli shakes his head, and Fíli lets out a tiny sigh of relief. Standing up, he steps around the brunette and slides through the doorway, pressing himself against the wall so as to make as little an impression as possible. Should anyone look their way, they would only see a dark wall, barely illuminated by the torchlight from the centre of the cavern.

Kíli comes around the corner, and if he weren't standing next to him, Fíli wouldn't have been able to spot him at all except for a pale face surrounded by blackness. Kíli has inherited the Durin family colouring, although his features come straight from his father, meaning that he tends to fade into the darkness that surrounds him.

Not a soul remains to be seen in the giant hall, but Fíli can just see the glint of a few pickaxes lying on the floor near the left scaffolding. He waits a moment, listening carefully for any further action, then decides that it's safe for them to move out of the shadows and explore a little.

They move as one, slowly making their way along the walls in perfect silence. Fíli darts forward, slipping behind an engraved pillar, and Kíli follows quickly. There are mithril veins beneath their feet, above their heads, along the walls, and Fíli can't help but pinch himself on the arm to assure himself that he isn't dreaming.

Kíli steps forward again impatiently, moving towards the centre of the cavern. Fíli looks around first, then runs after him, making sure to keep one hand on his lower sword at all times. There is danger present, even if Kíli ignores it.

He kneels down, one eye on the stone floor and one eye on his brother. The floor is rough but flat, a clear sign that it was levelled for one reason or another. Fíli isn't an expert on mining, or on building either for that matter, as he had spent more time forging or training. He knows everything there is to know about weapons, but when confronted with a cave, he doesn't know one from another. This is where Kíli comes in.

He stands up and continues to wander around, tapping the walls and running his hands along the rock until he reaches the pickaxe. He looks around, spotting another tunnel running off out of the nearby wall. That must have been where the miner or miners went.

The pick is too large for a dwarf, so Fíli kneels down and runs a finger along the edge. It's well worn, and hasn't been properly cared for in a long while. No self-respecting worker would leave his tools in this state, so clearly the owner isn't a professional. They could be an adventurer, or possibly a mercenary, simply out for money and taking advantage of a discovery. Not unlike he and Kíli, when he thinks about it.

Men, he decides, hopping up and stepping away. He looks up, spotting Kíli over by the cave wall, and meanders over.

"The complex was built by Dwarves but it's been abandoned for years," Kíli says in a quiet voice. "The miners are Men from the East, probably travellers from Bree."

Fíli nods, the information matching up to his. He looks around, eyes narrowing as they land upon the other exit. He can hear a few echoes from that direction, which worries him slightly. The miners could be coming back.

"What do we do?" Kíli asks, turning to him for the answer as he always has. Fíli knows it's his duty to provide answers where Kíli has none, but sometimes it's hard to keep up the confidence when he's just as far out of his depth.

"Head back over to the walls," he says, drawing one of his swords just in case. The echoes are getting louder, a sure sign that the miners are heading back, and Fíli has no intention of risking their necks for a simple exploration trip.

Kíli nods, seeming to understand his brother's motives, and creeps over to the wall, sinking into the shadows with insulting ease. Fíli follows, making sure to pick his feet up in order to make less noise. The echoes grow in volume as he hastens to reach the wall and slide next to Kíli.

He can just catch the edges of a conversation, and when the Men step into view he smiles slightly, glad to know his suspicions are correct.

"There's a good vein on the western wall, I've got quite a lot out of it already. It's a pity we haven't got more workers."

"Any more and we'd be dead. We're lucky to be alive to find this."

"We wouldn't have got hanged, you're overreacting."

"If it weren't for Will, we would've."

"Sly devil."

Fíli frowns. Maybe the Men were bandits, and if so, he and Kíli should probably get out of there as fast as possible.

He reaches out and touches Kíli lightly on the arm, nodding his head in the direction of the entrance where they came in originally. Kíli doesn't give any sign of comprehension, just begins to shimmy along the wall like a silent snake. Fíli moves in tandem, focussing on placing one foot in front of the other as quietly as possible, while still listening in on the Men's conversation.

Five Men round the corner out of the tunnel he spotted earlier, all of varying heights and builds, but clearly related somehow. All five had dark hair, not unlike Kíli's, and rather ruddy skin. The first, an impressive looking warrior with burly arms, was pointing over to where the pickaxe was, and Fíli assumed that he was the one who had been doing the mining. Two more of much the same build but far shorter followed him, both with daggers strapped to their belt. They seemed more like thieves than miners. A wiry looking fellow with stubble over his jaw came next, holding two torches aloft, and rounding up the party was a skinny, jittery man whose eyes darted from crevice to crevice in furtive paranoia.

Kíli had noticed them too, and was speeding up slightly in order to leave the cave faster. Fíli made sure to match his pace, but kept one eye on the group and a firm grip on his sword. If worse came to worst, he'd rather make sure they regretted taking action against one of the line of Durin.

Just as they are about to reach the final few metres, the jittery man looks over in their direction and lets out a shout. As one, all of them turn to see the two Dwarves, frozen where they stand and poised to run the last few steps.

"Look, over there! There's two Hobbits hiding over there!" roars the burly one, drawing his sword and beginning to run over, quickly followed by the rest. "They must've been sent to find us!"

Kíli looks ready to fight, but Fíli shoves him in the back and takes off, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along with him through the doorway and into the other hall. They have no torch, which puts them at a severe disadvantage, and they haven't time to light up one of their old ones. Fíli just prays that Kíli will be able to point them down the right paths in order to make it back to the campsite. Getting lost in these catacombs would be a fate worse than being killed from their pursuers.

Fíli darts through the antechamber, shooting looks over his shoulder to check on Kíli and make sure the Men aren't too close behind them. Kíli's dark eyes are wide, and he's running faster than Fíli, so the blond lets him go first, although he speeds up too.

"This way!" comes a shout from behind them, and Fíli can hear his heartbeat race. Dwarves are natural sprinters, though, so the burst of speed isn't difficult to maintain. Once in the relative safety of the tunnels, they can follow Fíli's marks and hopefully lose them.

Soon whatever else he is thinking disappears as he focuses on following Kíli. All he can think is _run _and _rock _and _light _and _don't stop, never stop. _ The light from the Men's torches behind them barely illuminates the corridor, but Dwarves have excellent dark vision, and Kíli's is phenomenal even by their standards. Fíli's, less so. So he puts his faith in his brother, trusting him not to lose them in the warren of tunnels that make up the complex.

Somehow, the Men follow them, although the vibrations from their heavy footsteps reverberate less and less as time passes. Kíli follows the trail unerringly, darting glances back to his brother every now and then, as if he wasn't sure that the elder would still be behind him. Fíli has never seen this sort of worry before, not from the intense Dwarf, and feels both proud and scared that he should be the reason for it.

The Men still chase, still hound them, still keep up. Their longer legs give them an advantage, and Fíli's energy capacity is being drained from their increased sprint. He's absolutely sure that he has never, not in all his years, run as fast as he is running now, or with such fervour. If this is what adventuring is like, this rush of adrenalin and sharp tang of – what is this? Panic? Fear? – emotion, then he is no longer sure that he wants a part in it.

Kíli must have thought him lagging, as he reaches behind and grabs Fíli's hand, pulling him along with a strength Fíli didn't know he possessed.

Suddenly, Fíli trips, the tip of his boot catching on a piece of jagged rock, and he falls forward, bringing Kíli down with him. Kíli is up again, lightning fast, and heaving Fíli up as the footsteps behind them draw ever closer. He fancies he can feel the flame of the torches on the back of his neck, as they careen around a corner, Kíli seemingly knowing precisely which corridors lead out of the mountain.

Left, right, left, right. That's all Fíli can think, adrenalin fogging his brain ever so slowly.

Fíli can't tell how long they've been running, but gradually the tunnel becomes lighter and lighter, and he can begin to see the marks they're following. The two of them speed up, using their last reserves of energy to put more distance between them and the Men.

Kíli hurtles through the gap, shoving the rocks out of the way of the cave door and grabbing Arrow's reins. Fíli follows suit, trying not to keep darting glances over their shoulders as they rush out, back into the daylight.

They're barely ten metres away from the cave door when one of the Men comes out, a bow taught in his hands and an arrow aimed at Fíli. He yells, alerting his comrades, and lets the arrow fly.

Fíli whips out a dagger from its sheath and blocks the arrow, the impact jarring his arm slightly. He urges Red on, glancing back to watch the archer knock another arrow and send it flying. It misses, but clearly Kíli isn't having any of it, as he draws his own bow and sends an arrow hurtling over, slamming against the stone near the man's head. It's only a warning shot, but apparently Kíli isn't opposed to actually shooting them, as he knocks another arrow and shoots him in the leg.

Fíli reaches over and stays Kíli's hand, pointing forwards. "Focus on riding!" he says, steering Red down and out onto more open ground. There are still trees scattered around, but they're out of the main part of the mountains and the ponies can run faster.

They don't stop, can't stop, until they've left the Men far behind them. Kíli lets out a little whoop, clearly loving the feeling of riding at such a breakneck speed. Fíli grins too, watching as Kíli stashes his bow back and throws up his arms, offering a very rude hand gesture back at the mountains. He can't fault him, he feels much the same.

They slow down, letting the ponies have a bit of a rest after their hasty sprint. Fíli feels a little bad for making Red run so fast, but they had no other choice and he's fairly sure that the ponies enjoyed the chance to really stretch their legs after so much slow walking.

"Let's do that again!" Kíli cries, twisting in his saddle to fix his grin on Fíli. His childlike joy is infectious, and Fíli finds himself laughing with him.

"Which, the race or the nearly getting shot by strange Men?" he asks, his question not entirely humourous. It has yet to sink in that they've had their first, real, encounter and ensuing near death experience, or at least certain danger.

"I'd rather not get shot, but if that's what it takes then it's better than actually taking an arrow." Kíli prods his pony into slowing down to walk next to Fíli. Arrow seems to catch onto her owners move, as she nudges Red in the side lightly and whinnies.

Fíli laughs, leaning forward to rest his head on Red's neck. Her shaggy coat tickles his nose, however, and he sneezes before straightening up again.

"Do we keep sticking to the mountains, now?" Kíli asks, looking over at the towering peaks. Their course so far has been simple – stick to the mountains then cut directly east to the Shire. Fíli is inclined to continue on with the determined route, provided they stick away from any ominous caves and catacombs.

He says as much, and Kíli nods, accepting this without question.

"Who do you think those Men were?" he asks further, looking at Fíli curiously.

Fíli thinks this over, remembering the overheard conversation from inside the cavern. "I think they were bandits," he says. "Did you listen to their talk when we were in there?"

Kíli tips his head from side to side in a noncommittal gesture. "Bits. I didn't pay attention to it, I was more interested in navigating out of the cave!"

Fíli nods. "Well, they said that they were going to be hanged, before, and that if they had any more people then they would've. They must've been some sort of criminal group kicked out of a town for stealing, or something like that."

Kíli grimaces, and Fíli hopes he realises how close they came. "Well, they couldn't catch us!" he says, and Fíli sighs. Clearly he hasn't.

He decides to let it go, knowing that even if Kíli doesn't realise quite how dangerous this is now, he will later. And, privately, Fíli really doesn't want to have to break it to him.

They ride for a while, exchanging a few odd sentences here and there, not really engaging in conversation, or at least the normal equivalent. Their talk wouldn't make sense at all to anyone else listening, but that's because half of it isn't even verbal. It was in where they looked, how they sat, their tone of voice. They could read each other like a book and both of them were so used to this that they occasionally have difficulty realising that others couldn't.

They steer back towards the more mountainous part of the area, already looking for a suitable place to camp. Fíli doesn't want to sleep in another cave, and says so, so they look around for a sheltered copse or something similar.

"How about here?" Kíli asks, gesturing around them. Trees stretch above them a little, offering about as much shelter as a piece of parchment, but the ground is dry and softer than plain rock, and there's space abounds.

Fíli looks around, then grins approvingly. "Alright. There's plenty of firewood, too, so we don't have to go search."

Kíli slides off his pony and stretches, patting Arrow on the neck and letting her nuzzle into his shoulder. Fíli smothers his smile and turns away, dropping down off Red and rummaging through his bags to find an apple or two. She deserves them, at the very least, after that impressive performance.

They set up camp, and Kíli manages to catch a rabbit for dinner. Fíli sets to work skinning it, but his mind is elsewhere. Watching Kíli wander around the camp as though nothing is any different is odd, and so he looks closer. He sees the way Kíli keeps sending looks to the shadows, and the way he occasionally glances over to Fíli as if to reassure himself that his brother is there. Fíli smiles at him each time, but Kíli doesn't smile back, just looks away hastily and busies himself with whatever he is doing at the time.

It worries Fíli, but he knows that there is little he can do about it yet. Better to wait until after they've eaten, when they're both relaxed and feel safer. Then he can slip easily into the big brother role and find out what's bugging Kíli, and hopefully make it all better.

He's always been the one to make it all better.

And he doesn't mind a bit.

**A/N: Many thanks again, to everyone! Because I seem to have forgotten this, I obviously don't own any of the Tolkien estate. Consider this relevant to everything I write, so I don't have to say it again.**

**To my guest reviewers, thank you! I can't reply in person obviously, but just know I read your reviews and take it into consideration too!**

**- Bronwyn**


	4. Rhodonite

**Chapter Four: Rhodonite**

Kíli flops back, his hunger sated and thirst quenched. They'd found a tiny spring falling out of the rocks only a while or so away, its water crystalline and clear. Kíli had to drag Fíli away, telling him that the ponies needed their share as well, especially after so bold a chase.

The thought of those Men racing after them still sends shivers of excitement down his spine. For his part, he thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of running, that little tingle of satisfaction that came with evading their pursuers. He'd never felt anything like it, the exhilarating rush and consequent moment of exultation. The only thing that he had found to fear, the only thing that worried him, was Fíli.

He _knows _Fíli isn't all powerful, isn't immortal, isn't the hero that he sees him as. But seeing real fear in Fíli's eyes, and to see him watch as he prepared the camp, shakes him.

Kíli knows his brother better than he knows himself. He knows when Fíli is fearful, even before it settles in, and so decides that tonight, he needs to watch out for him. He needs to set aside his own worry, set aside his fear, and make sure Fíli has someone there for when the dam breaks.

Because Kíli knows the dam will break. He knows, because Fíli only sees fear in Kíli when there is fear in himself. Just as Kíli can only recognise the worry in Fíli's eyes as it clouds his own heart.

The dam has broken before. That time, there was no one. Kíli vowed never to let that happen again, and so when he goes to draw a blanket from his rucksack and throw it around his brother's shoulders, he sits right up against him and bumps into his shoulder, a light push that Fíli reciprocates.

_I'm here._

_ I know._

But Kíli doesn't think he does.

"What troubles you?" Fíli asks, turning to look at him closely. Kíli sighs and runs a hand through his hair, making his fringe fall into his eyes in that irritating way it is wont to do.

"I'm worried for you," he admits. The words taste funny in his mouth, almost acrid.

Fíli starts, looking far more surprised than he ought. This little action peeves Kíli, because it sends the message that Fíli either finds it odd that Kíli worries, or doesn't think he's worth worrying over. "For me? Why me? You're the one who has been acting strangely tonight."

Kíli huffs and says, "Fíli, I have been watching out for you! You zone out, but there's nothing around to seize your attention. When I check on you, you smile that horrible little smile of yours that says, 'I'm fine, don't worry about me!' which means I have to go with it or else you freeze up and become defensive."

"Kíli, you peer into the shadows as if afraid. You look to me, and when I meet your gaze you look away. You can't fault me for finding you strange, you haven't smiled at all."

"Because I'm worrying about you!"

Fíli lets out a little laugh, and Kíli hates him for it. "I think we have just misunderstood each other's worry for the other. Go to sleep, there'll be quite a bit of navigating and riding to do tomorrow."

Kíli opens his mouth to protest, but Fíli pulls the blanket off his shoulders and spreads it on the both of them before lying down and turning his back to Kíli. So the brunette sits there, trying to bottle down the indignant anger that boils up in him. He doesn't want to make Fíli's time harder than it is, but if he doesn't make sure Fíli understands that he isn't a child, he is going to explode.

He must have fallen asleep, as when he next opens his eyes dark has settled and he is lying on the ground, blanket spread over his body. With a shake of his head he sits up, rubbing his eyes. He can see the golden head of his brother haloed in the firelight, making him look almost ethereal despite his hunched posture. Kíli shakes off the blanket and wanders over, hoping that Fíli isn't doing what he thinks he is.

Unfortunately, he is. The hunch of his shoulders and the position of his arms leave Kíli in no doubt that his brother either is, or was, crying. He rarely sees Fíli cry, but when he does he never comes out feeling the same.

"Fíli?"

He hates how small his voice sounds.

"Go back to sleep."

He hates how choked Fíli's sounds.

"Tell me what's wrong."

He hates the aggressive way he sits.

"Kíli, go to sleep."

He hates his brother's defensiveness.

"Please."

He hates to beg.

"There is nothing wrong."

He hates Fíli's lie.

"Fíli!"

He hates it.

"Kíli, leave me be."

All of it.

"Please, Fíli, tell me what is wrong."

But most of all –

"Go back to sleep!"

– he hates Fíli's tear stained face glaring at him, eyes lit by the flames and the tumultuous cacophony of emotions behind them.

He doesn't know what to do, so he throws caution to the wind and leaps forward, wrapping his arms around Fíli's chest and pulling him into a tight embrace. Fíli stiffens and tries to push him off, but he won't budge, not until Fíli puts aside his pride and relents.

"Fíli, please, just tell me! I don't want to see you cry, not now, not ever, and not over something like this!" Kíli tries to keep the desperate and angry tone out of his voice, but it seeps in regardless.

"Is it too much to ask that you just allow me some privacy? There are some things you cannot understand, and this is one of them!"

Kíli buries his head deeper into the fabric of his brother's shirt, reminding himself that Fíli is as upset as he is and unlikely to be thinking on what he says. "How do you know if you never let me try?"

"Because you are just a child!"

Kíli draws back, a wave of hurt surging through him. Fíli _knows _Kíli hates being called a child, and Fíli has _never _said it to hurt, yet he just has! Fíli doesn't seem to register the effect of his words, however, and continues on.

"You don't understand the danger that we were in today, and you refuse to acknowledge or understand the sheer pressure put on me in that kind of situation! You act on your impulses, pay no attention to the consequences and enjoy the feeling of being in danger! You are just a child, you have never had to grow up, so why do you insist on trying to understand things beyond you?"

Each word physically hurts to hear, and suddenly Kíli sees red. Fíli has no right, none, to criticise him in such a way for offering aid. If he is willing to play dirty, then Kíli is only too happy to oblige.

"Shut up!" he yells, swiftly standing up. "I am not a child! Not physically, not mentally. Don't think you're the only one who feels stress and…and unending pressure when faced with danger! You are not the only one who was terrified of losing their brother during that chase! Do you know how much fear – how much terror! – I felt when you tripped? As for not growing up, Fíli, I have spent my entire life trying to be as grown up as you are! I have spent my entire life trying to be older than I am! Do not speak to me of _growing up!_"

Fíli stands as well, but he is not among the tallest of Dwarves and so he loses the tactical advantage. "Trying and succeeding are completely different things! You haven't given yourself time to mature, and in doing so have missed it entirely!"

"You weren't exactly silent during the course of the ride either! Why can't you just accept that I worry? Is it that difficult to just set aside your pride for _one minute _and let me be the older brother for a second?"

"You aren't! That's my point! You can't be the more mature one because you don't have enough understanding to be!"

"What does that even mean? You're just putting up barriers so you don't have to tell me why you're so upset, so volatile! Fíli, just let it go and allow yourself some comfort! Why can't you just accept that you make me worry just the same? That it hurts me like it hurts you? That _I care!_"

Kíli bows his head, shoulders shaking as he tries to calm down. He knows he's probably hurt his brother, and that he really should have pulled his punches, but sometimes people just need a solid thump around the head before they can see straight. Fíli doesn't respond, and he looks up, desperately praying that something he said got through to his brother and he can actually begin to help him.

Fíli is staring at him, but his eyes aren't focused. He seems to be lost in the distance, so enraptured with his own thoughts that he pays no heed to his surroundings or his brother. Kíli steps forward, grasping his shoulders and shaking him slightly.

"Fíli? Fíli, I didn't mean – well, that is, I did, but I didn't want you to – will you look at me? I'm trying to apologise, damn it. Look, it's not that you're blind, I know you know all this, just – please, Fíli, look at me!"

He doesn't respond, so Kíli pulls him into a hug and buries his head in the strong shoulder. "Fíli, please…just, I care. I don't want you to try and protect me from seeing you upset. I'm not a child."

Fíli's arms come up and return the embrace, hesitantly but surely, but then his arms tighten and soon they are gripping each other like a lifeline, strands of black and gold twining together in a dance. Kíli can feel the fabric on his shoulder dampen, and sighs in relief, knowing Fíli is finally opening up to his words.

_Thank you._

_ I'm so sorry._

_ Don't be. You're alright. I'm here._

_ I know._

This time, Kíli knows he means it.

He finds himself on his knees, with his brother wrapped securely in his arms, and marvels at the role reversal. They have a running joke about who gets to be the older brother of the two, although it is less a joke and more a maxim now. Fíli has confidence unending, stemming from handling thousands of scenarios of all types, but Kíli knows that that only covers so much. Fíli has never had to deal with this sort of situation before, neither of them have, and it is far better for them to come to terms with it together, supporting each other.

Fíli lets out a long sigh but refrains from moving from his position, seemingly comfortable in Kíli's arms. Kíli murmurs a little, nothing intelligible, but enough to sooth his brother and calm them both down. As long as Fíli is comfortable and at peace, then Kíli doesn't care what he has to do. He would sacrifice anything and anyone for his brother.

He gets himself comfortable and lets Fíli drape across his lap, running his fingers gently across his scalp and through the tangled hair. With fluid, easy strokes he brushes it out and frees the knots, unclasping the little beads holding the ends of the braids together and brushing them out too. Fíli's eyes drift shut, and Kíli smiles fondly. He has seen his mother do this for Fíli often, and has done so before as well, and knows full well the lulling capabilities of the simple action.

Silence reigns for a long while as Kíli does his brother's hair, marvelling at the golden like quality of the long strands. His brother is rather good looking by Dwarf standards, unlike Kíli, and his hair attracts much attention. Kíli is always proud to be able to get a good look at it close up, even though the circumstances leading to that point are not always the greatest.

He braids Fíli's moustaches again as well, chuckling when Fíli snorts and absently swats at his hand.

Fíli murmurs something, and Kíli takes that as his cue to get some rest of his own. He stretches backwards and grabs his bedroll and the blanket, throwing the latter over his brother and folding up the former to make a makeshift backrest. It's departing from their usual norm, but in these circumstances he sees no problem in doing so. As long as Fíli doesn't snore.

He drifts off into a light slumber, woken several times by Fíli shifting or movement from the ponies. It doesn't annoy him so much as lull him back into slumber, knowing that they are all still hale, hearty and no more worse for wear since their encounter with the Men.

The sun heralds him into the next day, its rays sending warmth down to his bones and making him wiggle his shoulders in absent pleasure. The sky is clear, lacking any clouds whatsoever, promising a fine ride and a cheery Fíli. His brother likes all kinds of weather, but he does have a certain fondness for clear, still days where everything seems to be at peace.

Kíli knows this because he feels exactly the same way.

Fíli wakes as well, just as Kíli is massaging the kinks out of his back, and prods him sharply in the ribs. Kíli lets out a huff of air, glaring down at the blond in irritation.

"Did you have to?" he asks with what he knows is a pout, but really can't be bothered to put up the effort to wipe off.

"Yes," Fíli answers promptly. "It was such a good target. You should be watching more closely."

"I was watching, I just didn't bother to stop you."

"Because you're such an observational person."

Kíli frowns and glares at his brother. "Are you being sarcastic with me? You know I hate it when you do that."

"Me? Never."

Kíli lets it drop, just pleased that Fíli is back in good spirits. If last night had accomplished nothing, and Fíli was still being edgy and worried around him, then he would be forced to take rather more drastic measures to get him to open up. Thankfully, it isn't necessary. He may not know exactly what his brother was fretting over last night, but from their argument and Fíli's behaviour, he has a sure suspicion. The argument, while filled more with anger and desperation than care, showed more about what Fíli was feeling at that point than a hundred little talks would.

They eat breakfast and saddle up the ponies, acting completely normal except for the occasional nudge in the ribs. Kíli privately hopes that Fíli will continue to be this cheery and talkative throughout the day, although he knows not to push his luck. He may not be as taciturn as their uncle, but Fíli is far less chatty than Kíli even on a good day.

It's probably all that responsibility, thinks Kíli to himself. Gone and addled his brains. Maybe he'll grow out of it.

"Oi, sleepyhead, get over here!" Fíli calls, already sitting on Red and grinning down at him. "Places to go, people to see!"

Kíli just rolls his eyes and leaps onto Arrow, grinning like a madman as she tosses her head and stamps her foot challengingly.

"I think Arrow wants a race," he says innocently, smiling over at his brother. "Care to oblige her?"

Fíli snorts, but grins back. "Me? Or Red? Because I can assure you, I would outrace her even with one leg broken and my eyes beneath a blindfold."

"Do you hear that, princess?" Kíli leans over and looks the pony in the eye. Sometimes he can swear she understands every word he says, such intelligence does she display on occasion. "He thinks he and Red can outrace you. What do we say to that?"

Arrow tosses her head and sets off, darting through the trees to the sound of Kíli's laughter and whoops. Fíli and Red aren't far behind, and he soon abandons his joy for focussing on encouraging Arrow on.

They race several times, none coming up with a clear winner due to many detours, distractions and delays. Kíli is sure that he and Arrow won, fair and square, but apparently Fíli thinks that throwing Red an apple during a race is cheating. Kíli disagrees – surely that would be closer to giving aid, than offering a deterrent? But no, Fíli has decided to be a stick in the mud, and so will not allow for any bending of the guidelines.

So the sun shines down on two brothers who, for a short while, can be just that. No cares, no worries, no responsibilities and no dramas occur. No injuries are gained and no emotional trauma is suffered. In that day, they were just two boys enjoying a day in the sun.

Kíli would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, and he would be equally truthful if he said he didn't feel a slight feeling of jealously that other children might have gotten to enjoy such things. Danger hangs over the heads of many of the Dwarves, especially those of the line of Durin, but sometimes he wishes that just for a while, he could have had days like these in which to just relax and be _Kíli, _not a prince.

Then he looks over at Fíli and towards the road ahead of them, at the towering peaks and rolling hills, and knows that even if he had the choice, he wouldn't trade it for the world.

"What are you thinking about?" Fíli asks, brow furrowing in puzzlement. Kíli bites back a smile; it is rare that his brother can't tell what's on his mind, and he enjoys the feeling.

"Just thinking," he says noncommittally. Then, "I wonder whether we'll find any more caves. I hope we do."

"You never learn, do you?"

"It was fun!"

Fíli lets out a little huff then chuckles, shaking his head. "Kíli, we had this discussion earlier. I think it's best to avoid exploring until after we meet with the rest of the Company."

Arrow neighs, and Kíli laughs loudly. "Someone doesn't agree with you, brother! Come on, let's go! Go forth to action and adventure!"

"To action and adventure? More like danger and death." But Fíli follows him anyway, and the two race off once again.

* * *

Far off on a hilltop, a figure stands observing the two. He nods, turns, and ducks back inside the cave he stood in front of.

"My liege? The two escapees are riding towards the northern catacombs."

"Good. Are they in a hurry?"

"Very much so."

"See who they report to, and then bring them to me."

**A/N: The plot thickens! (I've always wanted to say that). Our troublesome two might be in for more than they expect!**

**Thank you all for reviewing again, and I'm glad you like what I've come up with! This story is a little complicated, so some of the stuff you guys are picking up is elaborated on in later chapters. You're all so observant! Thank you, guys!**

**- Bronwyn**


	5. Fluorite

**Chapter Five: Fluorite**

_Dís sighs and runs a hand through her son's thick, golden hair. "Fíli, you must be patient with him. He is not like you, do not expect him to respond to things as rapidly as you would. He isn't your age."_

_ "But I'm bored! I want to do something, and no one else will give me company!"_

_ "He is tired, allow him some rest."_

_ "He has been resting nearly all day! I want to play!"_

_ "Fíli…"_

_ The little boy pouts, a move that Dís finds rather adorable, if ineffective. She is a Dwarf, after all, and is not about to be swayed by her small son._

_ "But Ma!"_

_ "No, Fíli, and that is my final word. Keep out of his room. When he wakes, and I let him, you may play."_

_ "When you let him?"_

_ "Aye, when I let him."_

_ "And will you?"_

_ "That depends entirely how he is feeling."_

_ Fíli pouts again, and Dís pats him on the shoulder. "Sometimes, my son, there are things that strain the soul, not the body. These will tire you out just as much, if not more, so you need to allow yourself time to rest and recuperate. Until his soul is well again, he shall not play."_

_ Fíli frowns, but Dís knows he has a knack for understanding things and he slowly grasps the concept. "So, he's hurt his soul? What did he do? Did he step on it?"_

_ Dís hides a laugh. She could not have wished for a more amusing son, really, especially when he's learning things. "No, your soul isn't hurt by stepping on it. Your body and soul are hurt by different things. Your body reacts to physical things, like stubbing your toe or burning yourself."_

_ "Phy-si-cal," Fíli pronounces carefully. "Like stepping on glass?"_

_ "Exactly. Your soul is hurt by emotional things, like losing someone you love or being very scared."_

_ "E-mo-tion-al. Like…like when you get really angry and yell at me?"_

_ Dís nods solemnly. "When I tell you off, you feel disappointed. This hurts your soul, but it also allows it to grow, because you know more."_

_ The little blond Dwarfling looks very serious for a long while, thinking this new revelation over. Dís knows he will come to fully understand it in time, but also knows that he is too young to know, at his tender age._

_ Later, a dark haired Dwarf emerges from his room, eyes sad as they rest upon Dís, but his mouth crinkled in a small smile. His eyes also settle on Fíli, who looks up at him with a rather wider grin and holds up his arms, demanding a hug._

"Fíli."

_"Uncle Thorin!"_

_ Thorin outright laughs, a full, throaty chuckle that makes his eyes light up and his smile spread wider. "Why, hello, little one, what terrors have you been inflicting today?"_

_Dís wonders sometimes why only Fíli can make Thorin smile so wide, or laugh so honestly, but she knows there is a father in every Dwarf and every father enjoys seeing their children happy. Heaven knows, she and Náror have shared more than enough smiles over Fíli's antics. She places a light hand on her stomach – she may not see it, but she knows full well that soon enough there will be another little one running around the house._

_ Fíli looks up at his uncle, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a serious stare. "Thorin, you'll tell me and Ma and Da when your soul is hurting, right? 'Cause Ma and Da can make it better, and I promise I won't try and make you play if you want to rest it. It must be hard, having to use it all the time when it hurts."_

_ Dís places a hand to hide her open mouth, feeling pride surge through her as she listens to her son's words. If only Náror were here to listen to this._

"Fíli…"

_ As if by magic, she feels a rough hand on her shoulder and knows instinctively that her husband is standing just behind her, his face shining with pride for Fíli. He is, after all, the spitting image of Náror, and the two are really quite alike in many ways._

_ Thorin looks down at his nephew, smile dropping slowly and his face returning to the normal, slightly stony, visage. However, before Fíli can say anything, Thorin is hugging him as though he'll never get another chance. Fíli just grins, wraps his arms around his uncle's neck, and hugs back._

"Fíli!"

Fíli jerks at the shout, his head snapping up and making his neck ache slightly. Kíli is literally right in front of his face, eyes wide in concern and his hand ready to slap Fíli around the cheek. Fíli wrenches back, glaring at his brother before straightening up and adjusting the hem of his coat.

"I was thinking, did you have to?" he asks, tilting his head just so.

Kíli leans back, a satisfied smile spreading. "I wasn't sure if you were still entirely with us," he says cheerfully. "What were you thinking about?"

"Stepping on your soul," he answers, and it isn't until the words are out of his mouth that he realises how stupid they are.

Kíli gives him a sideways look as he turns, concern radiating from his body like stench from a Goblin. "Are you alright?" he asks, and because this is Kíli he honestly means the question, as opposed to being sarcastic.

"I'm sorry, I was just remembering something. I was little, I though you could step on souls." Fíli grins, the image amusing him for a few scant seconds.

"I don't think you can do that."

"No. You can't. That's the point."

"But if you could I suppose you'd be stepping on grass souls all the time, wouldn't you?"

Fíli turns and graces Kíli with his patented, 'Kíli-are-you-joking-have-you-no-brains-or-dignity-left?' look. It is a special look, and Fíli is a professional, having spent lots of time practicing. Kíli has more than a few moments of stupidity. Again, dropped once too many times.

"Kíli, do me a favour, will you?"

"What do you need?" Kíli doesn't even question it.

"Shut up and keep walking."

A miffed silence lingers in the air for a while, Fíli dropping back into his own thoughts and Kíli murmuring into Arrow's ear. By a child's logic, which is generally the most accurate, his and Kíli's experiences the day before should hurt their souls, but mend and strengthen them at the same time. But, if he is being entirely honest with himself, he'd rather put up with an immature and naïve soul that have to go through an experience like that again.

Not that it _is _likely to occur again. The Men they had met were just a group of outlaws, taking advantage of a rare find of theirs. It won't be until they actually set off on their quest to Erebor that they're going to face danger again. And then they'll have others with them, experienced warriors, who will be able to defeat any foe that so much as pokes its head out of its hole.

Trees pass by his vision. Rocks. Arrow and Red. Kíli. More often than not, all five. The monotony is dull, boring, but Fíli is happy to take it over any dangerous forays into dungeon like environments any day.

"I'm bored," Kíli announces at around four o'clock. Fíli can't tell for sure, but it seems about right. Normally he would just toss his brother an apple or something to side track him, but it looks as though this is not an option. "Let's play a game."

"Alright. What sort of game do you want to play?"

"Let's play…" Kíli frowns, obviously thinking of games they can play while still keeping up their – admittedly slow – pace. "Let's play 'I Spy'."

Fíli lets out a groan. "No. We are never playing that again. Let's play the 'Quiet Game'."

"Okay, what's that?"

"It's very simple. Whoever can keep _utmost silence _for the longest wins."

Kíli nods, fringe flying around his face wildly. "Alright. Ready. Set. Go!"

Kíli can be a little too gullible occasionally. Either that, or he really does have the same sense of fun as a child. Fíli wouldn't put it past him; he's seen Kíli find games as simple as skipping stones fun.

All of this leaves him in peace to enjoy the trek through the woods of the Blue Mountains, if you could call them woods. By Fíli's estimation, they have perhaps another day or two until they reach the northern tip of the mountain range, and from there perhaps a ten-day to the Shire. It shouldn't be difficult, although the journey from the mountains to the Shire is mostly open country. If there is trouble, there won't be escaping it.

Suddenly he stops, feeling something shift in his boot. He stifles a groan and stops, dropping down onto the ground to pull off his boot once again. With a strange sense of déjà vu he slams the heel of his hand onto the heel of the boot, and _yet another _rock drops out. It's similar to the last one, only smaller and an odd sort of green-grey colour that he rarely sees in rocks. He likes it.

Kíli stops as well, peering at his brother to see what he holds in his hand. Clearly he is still attempting to play the Quiet Game, as he claps a hand to his mouth and his eyes crinkle from supressed laughter.

Fíli shrugs and pockets the rock, hitching up his boots and tying the laces tight. He peers at the hole in the sole, trying to see if he can close it off somehow. He can't, more's the pity, and so he resigns himself to the fact that once again, he is going to be a cart for all manners of rocks. Pity none of the more rare or expensive gems have come into his possession. That would require the luck of Aulë.

Not much happens that day, as Kíli spent the entire day playing the Quiet Game and Fíli was more wrapped up in his own contemplations on body and soul to pay attention to much else. However, just as they relax that night, the silence is finally broken as Kíli says;

"You didn't just make up this game so you didn't have to talk to me, did you?"

The question is hesitant, and Fíli immediately regrets making his brother think such things. Not enough to refrain from teasing, but enough to take the harsh edge off his tone.

"I didn't make it up. You have Da to thank for that, he made it up when I was a little kid. I was just too clever for him to quiet any other way."

Kíli laughs and shifts behind him. "That's not true."

"Oh, but it is. He did it to you, too, but you used to get too bored and start talking anyway. Chatty little blighter, you were."

"You sound like Balin when you do that, do it again."

"I do not."

"You do! Go on, say something he's said."

Fíli smothers a final chuckle and elbows him in the side. "_Goodnight, Kíli,_" he says, "we've only got a little to cover tomorrow. Go to sleep."

"Why can't I pick on him sometimes," he hears the brunette mutter, but he knows he doesn't mean it. Kíli is mostly talk, except when he's angry.

The next day follows much the same, right down to finding a stone in Fíli's shoe. He's beginning to think it's a conspiracy to prevent him from ever wearing the boots again, but seeing as there aren't many other options available, he really doubts he'll be able to fix it.

"I've got some thread in the medicine kit," Kíli offers, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to point at the saddlebags on Arrow.

"No, that's for emergencies only," Fíli says sternly. "This doesn't count."

"But really, it's not as though we're going to run into anything. Unless there are some wolves or something, there's nothing out here."

"Kíli, only two days ago we ran into a group of bandits who wanted to kill us for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Just a fluke. Won't happen again."

"Right."

And so Fíli's boot remains an open issue.

The terrain they pass by is rough and thin, so the ponies are out of the question. It takes some coaxing to get Red to move through some areas, because she dislikes travelling on the slimmer trails or on places where the footing is treacherous. So far, Fíli has had no problems with her, but his luck runs out and he finds himself using the old 'carrot on a stick' method.

The trees thin and thicken over the hours, but gradually Fíli sees less and less surrounding them, a sure sign that they are heading further towards the rolling hills around Bree and Hobbiton. He hasn't been there, or at least not that he can remember, but he and his mother went through many of their old maps and searched up terrain, distance and hazards for the trip. It was mostly for Dís' benefit – she wanted her son to be fully prepared, and what mother doesn't have an incessant need to look after their children? But it had only been at Fíli's insistence that she had done so. Never let it be said that Fíli has no appreciation of the dangers of the outside world. Little, yes. None, erroneous.

At sundown they arrive at a suitable clearing just in front of a larger cave. Fíli, now paranoid towards mysterious caves of dubious origins, flatly refuses to have anything to do with it. Kíli doesn't argue, merely moves the ponies between them and the open slice in the rock. If it starts raining there's an option, but if it doesn't then neither one has any intention of going near it.

Kíli catches a rabbit, so for dinner Fíli gets to enjoy a rather good rabbit stew. He's so far beyond complaining that every time he puts the bowl to his lips he sends Kíli an appreciative look. After about the third or fourth time, Kíli thumps him around the head and tells him to eat faster.

Fíli spends a while trying to get the tangles out of his hair, and glares at his brother as the younger teases him.

"This is why I don't wear braids," Kíli says, fingering his own dark locks. "Much too messy and too much upkeep. Plus, don't they get annoying?"

Fíli shakes his head and flips his side braids over his shoulders. "Kíli, these braids are…beyond compare."

"Yes, but don't they get caught on things?" Kíli leans forwards and tugs on one experimentally. "They don't seem particularly useful."

"You are a Dwarf and you're questioning braids? Really?"

He wrinkles his nose and swats him playfully. "No, stupid, I just don't see the point for any that don't have any significance."

"They keep your hair out of your face, isn't that enough?"

"With this fringe?"

Fíli relents to his point, but forcefully spins him around and tugs his hair. "See, this gets caught on your arrows and quiver. If you braided a bit back, it wouldn't. Simple problem, simple solution." His fingers set to work, deftly intertwining the strands of hair to form a simple three way braid running off from the clip at the crown of his head.

Kíli frowns. "I have the clip for that." His hands come up and shoo Fíli away, but it's useless. The braid is already halfway done, and given the current mess and tangle of Kíli's hair, it will probably be staying.

"True. And your hair isn't as thick as mine, I suppose."

Kíli looks a little put out at this, which doesn't surprise Fíli. He isn't exactly attractive on Dwarven terms, and having thinner hair only adds to it.

"Right, well, I'm tired, so you'll excuse me if I run around doing all the preparation for some actual sleep." Fíli hops up, wriggling his toes and stretching his arms before wandering over to the ponies.

"Are you being shirty with me?"

"Yes." Eyes roll.

"…oh. Ok. Should I help?"

"Yes!"

So the campsite is set up, the horses fed and watered, and the cave warily edged around. Fíli isn't being unnecessarily edgy, no, but he does think it a trifle ridiculous that this is the second mysterious cave they've come across. One was enough, thank you very much, and they are quite happy without cavern adventures involving death, danger and disaster.

They settle down, and Fíli drapes an elbow lazily over Kíli's hip. Surprisingly, the younger lets him, apparently too far gone to really care about how far Fíli sprawls. He takes advantage of this and gets himself comfortable, before letting himself slip into a state of unconsciousness somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

He must have been further asleep than he thought, because he didn't even notice as three figures slipped into the camp and neatly unhitched the ponies. He failed to notice as they silently crept back to the entrance to the cave, sliding into the shadows as naturally as they would have had they been shadows themselves. And, for all Fíli knew, they might just have been.

Fíli doesn't notice as they wave out another, smaller figure carrying a little mining lamp, who steps right up next to where they sleep and looks them over. He doesn't notice as the little man, for it does appear to be a very short member of the race of Men, knocks once on the ground near Fíli's foot before leaving the way it came. If he had, this would have turned out entirely differently.

But it was not until Fíli was woken by Kíli's cry the next morning that he noticed any of this, and so it was to a great kerfuffle that he arose, short of two ponies and with a handful of distressed Kíli.

**A/N: Thank you once again for sticking with this story! Updates will be slower now, but they will come! Promise!**

**- Bronwyn**


	6. Amazonite

**Chapter Six: Amazonite**

Kíli wakes slowly, light slipping through his eyelids with a higher intensity than he is expecting. Opening them, he realises the sun is well past the horizon and it must be close to seven thirty, at least, and hastily sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes.

He brushes himself down and looks over for his discarded cloak, leathers and boots. His shirt sticks to his elbow oddly, so he pulls at it until it loosens up a little.

Looking around, he frowns. Something is different, but he can't quite place it. Dampened fire, snoring Fíli – who does snore, no matter how often he denies it – , scattered boots. Nothing is –

Then it hits him.

"The ponies!" he cries, looking around desperately, hopping to get his boots on. "Fíli! Fíli, wake up! The ponies are gone!"

Fíli rolls over until he's on his back, then cracks an eye open. "Mmphrg?" he asks intelligently.

"Fíli! The ponies are gone!" Kíli's freaking out. The knot has been untied at the stake, so therefore the ponies were stolen deliberately as opposed to merely lost or pulled loose. He kneels down next to it, following the tracks with his eyes. It's difficult, as he's no tracker, but he thinks he can discern faint hoof prints on the dry earth.

"Kíli?"

"Fíli!" Kíli leaps up again and shakes his brother roughly by the shoulders. "The ponies! They're gone! Someone's taken them!"

Fíli's eyes shoot open, and he surges up from the bedroll, braids tangled and hair mussed. "What?!"

"The ponies were stolen! They've gone! Someone snuck in and untied the knots!" Kíli's voice is tinged with hysteria, and he feels himself shaking as adrenalin sweeps through his body. He looks around, peering through the trees and around the campsite, searching for any possible remnants of the intruders.

Fíli races forward and grabs his wrists, turning him to face him straight on. "Kíli! Kíli, calm down! You're hysterical, stop and take a few deep breaths. Come on, listen to me."

Kíli feels his chest tightening so he does as his brother says, sucking in huge lungful's of air as he clenches his fists. He shuts his eyes, shaking. "Intruders – in our _camp, Fíli –_ you could be dead by now – where are they? There could be more of them if, if they're nearby – oh, Aulë, what if they kill them? What's going to happen - "

There's a sudden whoosh of air, and a sharp pain in his check. Kíli steps back, eyes opening wide in shock as one hand, wrist still encased by his brother's, rises to touch the side of his face. Fíli eyes him firmly.

"Kíli, stop. Count to ten and take a deep breath, and _calm down,_" he says, holding eye contact. "Can you do that?"

Kíli nods once and does as he says. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

"You are going to sit down, and then you are going to eat something. After you have eaten, you will put your gear on and you will come with me to find where Red and Arrow have disappeared off to. What are you going to do?"

Kíli repeats this back to him, taking heart from his brother's strength and immovability. Fíli leads him over to sit on the ground, pulling out his boots and placing them next to him. Food must have been present, at some point, but in all honesty Kíli neither registers it nor cares either way. All he can pay attention to his the horrible buzzing in his ears, the cold that seeps down headfirst, and his brother, moving around with his rock-sure confidence.

It feels like an hour, although it probably only is minutes, before Fíli eases Kíli up and peers into his eyes. "Are you alright, now?"

Kíli takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, clearing his head. "Yes. Yes, I'm…I'm fine. Thanks."

Fíli eyes him for a moment longer, before nodding and turning around. "Good. Get yourself ready, and then we'll have a look around for where they could have gone. Make sure to have all your stuff ready – I want to be able to leave as soon as possible."

Kíli goes about following his brother's instructions, but thoughts keep swirling around his head. In that short time, with barely a minutes worth of dialogue exchanged, somehow, Fíli grew. He isn't the same older brother Kíli can remember, there's something different, almost regal about the way he carries himself. Almost as if he has taken Kíli's moment of weakness and turned it into his own moment of strength. Kíli knows, had their roles been reversed, he would not have been able to do the same thing.

Kíli grabs his bow, stringing it tightly and setting it over his back. He knows that if they run into the thieves, the burglars who stole Red and Arrow, their only option may be to fight. And there is no way Kíli is going to lose a fight to a group of people who steal horses.

Soon they are off, following the tracks as best they can, occasionally making a mistake and taking the wrong turning. The area isn't large, however, and when they arrive in front of the cave entrance they'd discovered earlier, they know there can't be a mistake in judgement. As much as Kíli knows Fíli will hate going into the cave, it really is the only route the thieves could have taken the ponies down.

"Come on, let's go in," Kíli says, hastily striking a torch and going head first into the cave. "We haven't much time, they've probably covered a lot of ground by now."

He's nearly five metres in before he realises that Fíli hasn't followed him. He turns, frowning in puzzlement, and steps back towards the entrance again.

"Fíli?"

Fíli stares into the cave, but he isn't seeing Kíli. His gaze is distant, unfocused, and Kíli hopes to high hope that he isn't having doubts about their mission.

"Fíli?"

His head jerks around. "Yes?"

"Cave."

"Stone?"

"You had it last."

Fíli searches through his pockets while Kíli shifts impatiently, darting glances into the darkened depths of their new cave system. "Alright, I've found it. Let me check the last ones, too, just in case."

He does so, and this time one streak is red and the other an odd sort of luminescent green.

"Use that one," Kíli says, filching it from his brother and holding it up to examine it closer. "I haven't seen anything like this in years."

"We'll save it until the first one runs out," Fíli decides, ignoring the brunette and stealing his torch. "It's good, but it'd be better to use it in the darker areas."

"Alright." Kíli tosses him the rock and lights another torch, following him into the cave. "What's the plan if we run into anything this time?"

"We run, and when we can't run, we fight." Fíli is unusually serious, so Kíli doesn't press the issue and shuts up.

The darkness is subtly different from before. Something about the cave has changed, and Kíli knows it isn't just because it is a separate system. Actually, it might be a part of the same system, having extended further up the mountain ranges. The chances are low, but possibilities shouldn't be ruled out until given reason to be.

There is a dampness, a dankness to the air that makes Kíli feel slightly less adrenalin fuelled and more wary. There's no moss, no sign of water, but the air is heavy with the scent of fresh springs and it feels weighty on what little bare skin Kíli has.

He extends a hand, a deeply ingrained habit, and runs it along the wall. It is far, far smoother than it should be, and he is inclined to believe that this used to be an underground stream, even though it is larger than the norm. He doesn't have any other explanation – either that, or for some reason someone has spent years carefully smoothing out every inch of the corridor.

Kíli touches his brother lightly on the shoulder and then reaches over to grab his hand. Fíli doesn't protest, just lets Kíli run it along the wall.

"Stream?" asks Kíli in a low voice.

"Size?"

"Enough."

Fíli appears to think on this for a while before nodding. "Upwards slope," he says, gesturing to the path before them. Kíli accepts this reasoning with a quick nod and set to work making an estimated map of the area in his head. They'd found several springs on their journey, and the recent area seemed riddled with them, so perhaps this section had been re-routed.

Contrary to popular opinion, Kíli was not stupid. He was specialised, entirely lacking in common sense of any kind, and about as un-worldly as they come, but he was not stupid. He knew his craft inside out, just as Fíli knew his, and if they both agreed that the cave tunnel was probably a dried up, underground stream, then there was a high chance it was.

Another thing Kíli notices is that this section of the tunnel is well worn, and there is still mud on the ground. It hasn't rained for that mud to be recent, and therefore this tunnel has been used multiple times before that previous night. A main entrance, then, or a secondary one used a lot.

They come across more intersections as they travel deeper, echoing their experiences in the last set of catacombs. Luckily there is no strange pattern to the design of the tunnels, making the system easier to navigate. Dwarves know tunnels like nobody's business, and it isn't difficult for the two of them to judge the tunnels leading to the centre of operations. If the amount of mud in each is anything to go by, then it's very far into the mountains.

Cavernous streams don't form such systems, though, and Kíli begins to get a little suspicious. Even more so when he sees that one corridor leading off from their third intersection is blocked by rubble of all different shapes and sizes.

Fíli taps the walls, startling Kíli somewhat. "The walls are too secure for that to happen," he says quietly. "I don't understand. Could it?"

Kíli runs over the different scenarios in his mind. "Only if someone had been excavating there unduly, or didn't put up proper supports. Some people don't, you know."

Fíli doesn't respond, merely furrows his brow and continues on.

Light begins to filter in once again, causing Fíli to slow down drastically and Kíli to start peering into shadows. If their last experience was anything to go by, then the light at the end of the tunnel is a harbinger of danger, not hope or freedom.

But with danger comes excitement, and that incredible adrenalin rush, so Kíli isn't quite as hesitant as his brother.

They continue along, both occasionally knocking on the walls to check whether or not there are any surprises in wait or if the collapse of the tunnel earlier was a sign that these ones were flimsy. It is also for some sense of security, although Kíli would never admit as much.

They reach the source of the light shortly. Emerging into a large, almost circular cavern, Kíli's attention is immediately drawn to the fire in the centre. It is about the same size as an average campfire, large enough to roast things on but not big enough to leap out. He moves past Fíli and experimentally waves a hand over it, feeling the warmth soak through the leather of his glove and warm up his hand. It's an odd feeling, and the heat of the cave mixes strangely with the dampness of the air to give it humidity.

Fíli grabs his collar and drags him back. Kíli can see his hands moving furiously in the light of the flames, and absent-mindedly tracks them while looking around the room. 'Don't do that! There could be people here, off in those halls to the side, and I highly doubt they'd just let you walk by without anything happening. And don't talk!'

The last message grates on his nerves. Kíli is not going to risk either of them with undue noise, and tells him so, but it ignored in favour of examining the first corridor.

It turns out that it isn't even a corridor, but a small room jutting out from the cave wall. It is for the most part empty except for what look like small tools piled up in the corner. Fíli looks tempted to go and examine them as well, but Kíli draws him back by his hood and nods towards the other tunnels spiralling out from the cavern. Fíli blinks a few times and rouses himself, before nodding and moving on to the next.

It is much the same, although this time there is a short corridor between the main room and the small antechamber. It isn't surprising – Kíli has seen many, many plans with designs similar to this, with rooms radiating out not unlike a stylised sun's rays. In order to fit the size of the rooms, some are moved backwards and others pulled forwards. It's an old, old technique, and Kíli has heard Thorin speak of it when referring to Erebor and the Kingdom Under the Mountain.

The room is empty but for a few planks of some kind of timber, so they leave it alone and continue on to the next.

Long benches, large kegs and the remains of a meal are all part of the scenery of the next room, and Kíli decides that this is his favourite. There is even still a full flagon of what looks like ale on the table, but Fíli drags him away before he has time to make investigations.

Kíli doesn't know anything about cuisine, other than that it is edible, so very few conclusions are drawn from the food other than it is certainly not Elven. There is not a single piece of green anywhere either, so the owners are probably male. Again, purely hypothesis, but seeing as it is all they have to go on and their collective knowledge is zero, it's a start.

They carefully move out, taking great pains to not disturb anything. Noises, possibly mining picks, filter in from other corridors and Kíli can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He has been in a similar position not five days past, and has no desire to repeat the experience. Mostly.

The next room has a tunnel leading into it again, but once they have navigated past this, Kíli hears a tell-tale snuffle and pushes Fíli slightly, urging him forward. Sure enough, there stand Red and Arrow, both clearly frightened and tied to a hook hammered into the wall. Kíli doesn't know who did this, but when he does, there will be hell to pay.

Arrow is skittish, unsurprisingly, and shies away somewhat from him and Fíli before she recognises them. Red is more stubborn, and takes some cajoling from Fíli before she lets him check her over for injuries. Kíli follows his lead and does the same for Arrow, noting thankfully that whoever stole them didn't harm her. He really likes Arrow, and would be sorry if anything should happen to her.

Fíli sets to work on the knot, so Kíli moves on to Red and tries to manoeuver her into a position that gives Fíli more slack to work with. Despite that, Fíli gives up on undoing it peacefully and draws a dagger from…somewhere, and swiftly saws the thick knot apart.

Kíli opens his mouth to ask a question, then shuts it again. The ponies are making enough noise as it is, and there is no reason to add to it. 'Straight back out again?' he signs, his gestures a little more disappointed than they should have been. He makes up for it by sending a few looks over his shoulder. It would do neither of them any good to be caught this far into the operation.

Fíli nods, gesturing to the corridor leading out of the little room. Kíli rubs a hand along Arrow's neck and gently leads her out, careful to watch for any stones or rocks that she could step on. The pony-nappers may have brought the two here before, but that doesn't mean that the route will necessarily be as safe on the way back.

Fíli knocks on the wall once, so Kíli turns around to see what he wants. Instead of the familiar blond, however, he sees a very small humanoid. He freezes, eyes wide, and backs away slowly. It's a little man, tiny and skinny, with mining leathers and a – rather adorable – little pickaxe slung over one shoulder. It's eyes and head are huge, vastly out of proportion for the rest of his body, and he is staring up at Kíli as though he has just found his next dinner.

Fíli is standing just behind him, but for some reason is only giving Kíli a funny look. 'What is it?' he signs, confusion evident in the hesitant way he moves his hands.

Kíli shoots looks between the foot-high miner and his brother, not able to believe that Fíli can't see what is literally under his nose. He points straight at the man, but Fíli just gives him a funny look.

'There's a tiny miner staring at me – he's right there – why can't you see him? – but he's – am I insane?' His gestures keep falling off midsentence, and he gulps, looking around before returning his gaze to the miner.

The miner gives him a truly terrifying smile. It spreads all the way across his features like a knife scar, slicing his face in two and revealing scarily white teeth. He raises a hand and knocks once, twice, three times on the cave wall, the echoes rattling down the corridor they came through.

Kíli looks up once more at his brother. Fíli is beyond confused now, and actually looks worried, as though something not quite right is going on. Suddenly, a flash of fear sweeps over the blond's features, and Kíli sees his open his mouth as if to say something.

Then, with an almighty crack, he feels a sharp pain in his head and everything goes dark.

**A/N: Another one! Thank you, everyone, and my lovely guest reviewers hiding out there from my two one-shots (isn't that an odd phrase?), who I can't reply to. If anyone can guess – or actually knows – who the little humanoid creature is, then feel free to drop me a line with your guesses!**

**- Bronwyn**


	7. Selenite

**Chapter Seven: Selenite**

There is a stone in his boot.

It seems to be a recurring theme lately.

The thought passes idly through Fíli's mind as he wakes from unconsciousness. A foggy haze surrounds his mind, and he is very tempted to just lie where he is and go straight back to sleep.

Luckily, the very thing that irritates him so much is preventing him from doing just that. The stone jiggles around, poking into his foot and making sleep seem highly unwelcome. So he opens his eyes, already reaching around to feel the sole of his shoe.

Something stops him abruptly, and he feels the rough tug of rope around his wrists. It's unexpected and he blinks, just once. There is not supposed to be rope around his wrists. Why is there rope around his wrists?

There's a groan and a muffled curse from somewhere behind him, so he shuffles around and peers into the gloom. It's difficult to see, his eyes haven't adjusted yet, but he can just make out another form in the darkness.

"Kíli? Is that you?"

"Fíli?"

Fíli leans down just as Kíli sits up, and the consequent bang on the head is enough to startle him back into his senses. It also makes him swear like a drunken sailor, but that's irrelevant.

"Where are we?"

"In another cave, I expect. I don't know, I only just woke up."

Kíli sits up suddenly, tugging his arms after noticing his own bindings. "Did you see that man? Back, before, when we got knocked out. Did you see him?"

Fíli frowns. "See who? Kíli, you were staring at the ground. There was no one there."

"No, there was! There was a little miner; he was tiny, with a lantern and everything."

His vision has adjusted enough for him to see Kíli looking just about as confused as he is. Apart from a rather ominous stain in his hair, he looks fine, so Fíli puts it down to shock.

"You've just been bashed around the head. Maybe you're a bit confused."

"No, there was!" Kíli kicks one foot, hitting something and sending a clanging noise echoing around their surroundings. Fíli starts, then stretches his hands out behind him to try and locate whatever it is Kíli has upset this time. His hand comes into contact with a cold bar, and after a little more poking he realises that they've been imprisoned in a cage.

"We're trapped," he says as calmly as he can, running his fingers along the bars and trying to figure out how much room they have. The bars are cold and hard, but they feel rusty beneath his fingers and he doubts that they are very strong. "There are rusty bars all the way along behind me."

Kíli looks like a spooked animal, and shuffles forwards to peer over Fíli's shoulder. "Can we break them down?"

Fíli raises his eyebrows. "Kíli, they're iron."

"We're Dwarves. You used to run into walls headfirst, and I used to practice falling off things. Come on, we can handle a little cage." Kíli's hands may be tied, and it might be as dark as Mordor, but Fíli honestly would not put it past him to carry through with his statement.

"First we have to get these off," Fíli says, pulling at the bindings on his wrists. Remembering that Kíli can't see him, he adds, "the ropes around our wrists."

Kíli makes an affirmative noise and Fíli can see a dark shape moving around, looking for something to break them with. He does the same, running his hands along the rusted iron behind him to search for a sharp part. The stone in his boot digs in, but he can feel already that it isn't sharp enough to cut anything other than butter.

"I've found a jagged rock over here," Kíli says, so Fíli follows the sound of his voice and moves over to him.

"Turn around, I'll try and untie yours." Fíli doesn't want to waste time trying to break rope on rock.

They turn back to back, fingers working in tandem to try and untie each other's bonds. Kíli's are thick and heavy, the knots tied tight and biting into his flesh, so Fíli has a lot of trouble trying to untie them. Kíli has marginally more success, due to Fíli's being weaker, and within five minutes Fíli's hands are free.

"Alright, let me try and work out yours," he says, turning around and lying on his stomach to get a better look at Kíli's hands. The knots are complex and tight, and with a sinking feeling he knows he won't be able to undo them. Nevertheless, he gives it a go, and only after a good ten minutes have passed does he give up.

"I can't undo these, they're too tight. I'll try to find something to cut them with."

He feels around the cave floor, trying to find something sharp to cut his bonds. They have been stripped of their weapons, down to the throwing axes in Fíli's boots, so there is nothing on their persons which they can use to slice the rope and have done.

It takes a while, but eventually Fíli manages to loosen the knots enough for Kíli to wrench his hands free. Kíli immediately winces and shoots an appreciative at his brother, although the lack of light makes it difficult to ascertain what exactly Kíli's face is expressing.

Fíli stands up and reaches up with his arms, trying to see if he can touch the roof or more bars. His fingers encounter nothing but air, so he assumes that the roof is much higher and the cage is more of a cell.

"Alright, on the count of three." Kíli steps back, clearly about to throw himself at the bars, but Fíli leaps forward and pulls on his shoulder, staying his movement.

"Not yet!" he hisses. "We don't know who's there, and if we make too much noise then someone might notice."

Kíli gives him a light swat on the shoulder, shoving his hand off. "Fíli, we need to get out of here."

"Yes, I know. But they had to get us in here somehow, so there has to be a door along the bars, even if it's locked."

"Of course!" Kíli moves forward, eagerly hunting for a door or lock. It takes a while because neither of them know which way is up, or rather which way is forward. It is not dissimilar to looking for a needle in a haystack.

"I think I've got it," Fíli says, feeling a chunky lock beneath his fingers. It's just higher than eye level, so he has to tilt his head back to fiddle with it. From its placement, he assumes that the people who captured them must have been Men, at the very least. He can remember catching a glimpse of someone knocking out Kíli, but not who they were nor their race, so it's mostly guesswork.

He stands on his toes, trying to gain a few extra inches. Kíli moves up behind him and laughs, batting his aside and taking a look himself. Fíli doesn't let it get to him – or at least that's what he tells himself – because Kíli has been taller than him for a while now, and he has gotten used to it. He has also gotten specially made boots, although that is not something anyone talks about.

"Can you open it?" Kíli asks curiously, and Fíli affixes him with a disapproving glare.

"No, of course not. I don't pick locks."

Kíli turns his head, and Fíli is one hundred percent sure that he is giving him a smirk. "Is that what you told Thorin?"

"No, that's what I told Balin last time he visited."

"And did he believe it?"

"What do you think? Move over."

The lock is shoddily made, and Fíli clicks his tongue at the craftsmanship. He could forge a better lock, and he is no lockmaster. Feeling up behind his head he takes the clip out from his hair, blowing some of the strands out of his eyes as they fall. From the clip he takes a long, sturdy piece of metal which he secreted there before leaving.

"What's that?"

"Lock pick," says Fíli briefly before turning his focus on to picking the lock. He could probably break it off, with both his and Kíli's combined strength, but he isn't going to risk alerting anyone of their escape.

"You hid a lock pick in Mother's clasp?"

"I couldn't hide it in my brooch, it broke the week before we left."

Thankfully for Fíli, the lock is simple and made for a large, clear cut key. It isn't hard to find the correct sequence, and soon the lock is resting open in his palm. Kíli lets out a whoop, which Fíli promptly shushes, before the two of them hasten out of the cell.

The first thing Fíli does is find a wall. He has been in darkened caves before, and knows that if the explorer has no grounding wall then it is so, so easy to get completely lost. The second thing he does is do a complete check of everything on both of their persons. They've retained their armour, thankfully, and Kíli still has his tinderbox strapped on his hip, but their weapons are long gone and Fíli has lost the marking stone they were using to record their route.

Fíli leads the way, hand touching the side of the wall at all times as he attempts to navigate his way out of the cell-cave-thing. With no light to guide them, nor memory, he blindly follows the slope of the wall as far as it can take him. Kíli falls silent, and he takes the opportunity to listen out for any possible indication of just where they're going.

They find a pile of wooden torch sticks lying on the floor some way in. It was quite by accident – Kíli had moved away from the wall slightly to see what he could find and ended up tripping on them. Fíli quickly snatches some up and stashes them away before lighting one with his brother's tinderbox.

The flickering flames illuminate the tunnel walls, which are narrower than Fíli expected. He doesn't recognise them and feels a stab of worry go through his chest, before he stamps it down and examines the area. No marks, signs or notes point out the way, not even a helpful little 'EXIT' sign that so often adorns Dwarven mines.

Kíli, taking advantage of the sudden light source, shoots forward and begins to set off eagerly. Fíli hastens to keep up, occasionally grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him to slow him down.

"We have to be cautious," he whispers. "We don't know where we are or what happened. Anything could jump out and we haven't got any weapons."

"What do we do, then?"

Fíli frowns, looking around him as if a secret tunnel would pop out randomly. "We take only right hand turns if we reach an intersection, and we go on _carefully. _Can you do that for me?"

Kíli nods, the teasing going straight over his head as he absorbs himself in a study of the cave walls. Fíli lets him. He knows Kíli is interested in becoming a mine architect. He finds it amusing, because while Kíli is good with mathematics, particularly angles and distances, he is rubbish at drawing. Absolutely atrocious. But he didn't want to go into smithing like Fíli and Thorin, so Fíli just let him do his thing, knowing that sooner or later Kíli will have to pick up arms anyway.

Suddenly, Fíli stops, hearing something further down that particular tunnel. He hold up a hand and signals for Kíli to stop moving, then readies himself for whatever is to come.

There is a knock on the wall near him, so he looks down and across at the smallest little humanoid he has ever seen. Large eyes blinked up at him, and a wide, mischievous smile showed white teeth in the darkness. It was wearing miner's garb and carried a tiny lantern, barely as big as Fíli's hand.

Kíli spins around at the knock, then points sharply at the figure and says, "See? That was what I was telling you about! Before we got knocked out I saw him!"

Fíli is not stupid, so he glances around quickly before spinning so he is back to back with Kíli, eyes still on the little miner. "I know what you are," he says, searching his memories desperately for the name of the creature. "Ma told us about them, remember, Kíli? The little miners who go around, stealing tools, collapsing mines and causing havoc."

He can feel Kíli's hair brush against his upper arms as he shakes his head. "No…but this one got us locked in a cell! Watch out!"

Fíli frowns, racking his brains. "We hear you knocking on the mine walls…Knocker! Knockers, you're a Knocker!"

The Knocker, for that is what it is, smiles even wider. "You heard of me, then?" it asks in a high voice, lowering the lantern slightly as it grins up at the duo.

"Of course!" Kíli exclaims, turning his head to peer at the Knocker. "All Dwarves know of you!"

"Little Johnny Knocker, knocking on the walls," sings the Knocker, absent-mindedly swinging his arms as he bobs around. "Knock, knock, once he's done, you'll have nothing left for none!"

"Shhh!" Fíli waves his hands desperately, trying to quieten the tiny creature. "You'll get us caught!"

Suddenly the Knocker's eyes catch the light, and they gleam with an almost evil glint. "I'll not get you caught, young Dwarves! You do that all by yourself!"

With a sinking feeling Fíli realises that the Knocker has no intention of helping them, just causing mischief among his mine. "Kíli, we have to leave. Now."

Kíli stumbles a little as they back away, trying to put distance between them and the little miner. Kíli abruptly halts, and with a churning feeling in his gut Fíli turns to see a tall, burly man looking down at them with a dark smile.

"Looks like we've got ourselves some escapees, eh, Johnny?" he says, and Fíli recognises him as one of the Men from their last adventure with catacombs.

The Knocker cackles gleefully. "Yes, we do. Shall I steal their tools? Put stones in their boots? Or, maybe, put stones on their heads and see how they squeal!"

"Don't even think about it!" growls Kíli menacingly, which makes the burly man laugh and lean down so he is at eye level with the taller Dwarf.

"You seem a brave little lad, don't you? Wouldn't want anything to happen to little brother here, would you?" In saying this, the man reached over and ran a hand over Fíli's head, stroking the hair like he would a cat. Fíli wrenches back, grabbing the man by the arms and slamming his wrist into the wall. An overreacting, to be fair, but justified.

The man lets out a few choice curse words and glares at the Dwarf. "Looks like the little one has spirit. Oi, Johnny, come here a minute. We've got something to show these two."

Someone grabs Fíli's arms from behind him and holds him as he struggles. Kíli lets out a roar of rage, but he too is seized and made to follow the strange, unknown man. Johnny the Knocker follows them, sometimes tugging on Fíli's leg or pinching Kíli, just making the trek slightly more difficult than it had any right to.

"We've been working in these caves for a while now," says the man. "Me and me mates. Got kicked out of Bree, decided to come over here. Didn't think we'd find this."

"What is this place?" Fíli demands, and the man looks over at him and laughs.

"These are the Blue Mountains. Would've thought you'd know where you were going."

"I know that! But the caves, what are they?"

The man shrugs. "Does it matter? They're rich! We'll have enough to retire as wealthy men when this haul's over."

"Men want money, men always want money," says the Knocker wisely, nodding his head. "Many have been, all have gone. None last long."

"The caves are cursed," says the man holding Kíli, who Fíli recognises as being the archer who tried to shoot them before. "The Dwarves who were here before, they cursed the place. You've heard of the Dwarves, haven't you? None left now."

"Of course we know about the Dwarves, we are Dwarves!" Kíli says indignantly.

The Men look surprised, and the leader says, "You aren't Hobbits?"

Kíli sputters a bit, and Fíli hastily steps on his foot to stop him being stupid. They lapse into silence, and the Knocker happily fills it.

"Men think you're Hobbits because of your size, you know. I don't think so, I know Dwarves. All Dwarves know of the Knockers, Johnny or otherwise. Knock, knock, knock."

Fíli growls, resisting the urge to kick out at the irritating creature. Kíli has no such restraint, and slams a leg out to the side only to have the Knocker swerve out of the way at the last second.

"Stop wriggling, you're about to meet the boss," says the leader. Fíli doesn't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. They could well be about to die, but on the other hand, it might only be a simple mistake.

Absolutely. Then they'll be let out to ride off into the sunset.

Kíli shoots a look his way and moves his hands slowly, deliberately, up to brush his hair out of his face. His fingers move in tiny little flicks as he moves his hands, and Fíli realises that he's signing.

What do we do?

Fíli stretches to hide the movements of his hands and replies. We wait. When the time is right, we take them out and try and find our gear.

Kíli nods ever so slightly and looks away, trusting Fíli implicitly. Fíli doesn't know if this is such a good thing – not all his ideas are good ones, quite the opposite, and having someone like Kíli near at a time like this is courting disaster.

But, he thinks idly, that may be true, but there's not a single Dwarf, Man or Hobbit that I would rather have at my side in a fight.

**A/N: Knockers are a creature from Cornish folklore, but our Johnny is a mixture of the Cornish Knocker and the Welsh Coblynau. Not Gollum, but similar. **

**To Toocls4comfort, thank you! The stew was just a little side note, I'm fairly sure there's going to be some part of canon that contradicts it. I'm working fairly loosely around it, as you can guess. But thank you, and thanks to everyone else for everything else!**

**- Bronwyn**


	8. Moss Agate

**Chapter Eight: Moss Agate**

Kíli doesn't like being manhandled down corridors, so the second hands draw his arms back he is struggling and yelling at their captors. He realises this probably isn't the best way to deal with the situation but _he's being manhandled!_

Or Dwarfhandled. Whichever.

It amuses him that the leader, or at least who he takes to be the leader, thinks that he is the elder of the two. He may be taller but Fíli simply emanates 'older brother'.

The Knocker, who is called Johnny if he is telling the truth, continues to irritate him. He kicks out, only to have it dodge and poke out a long tongue at him, a rather childish move that Kíli reciprocates. He can feel the surge of adrenalin running through his veins, tingling around his fingers and making him jitter slightly. They're being taken to see a mysterious person and uncertain death, and it's more excitement than he's had in months.

Trying to remain inconspicuous he makes a few quick gestures in Iglishmêk at Fíli, hiding the movement as best he can. He needs to know how they are going to handle this, how they're going to escape the situation, if he is to try anything dangerous. Naturally, Fíli is the one with the plan and Kíli trusts him with his life.

Fíli signs back, telling him to wait. Kíli doesn't want to wait, he wants to leap into action and go find the ponies, but something about the hesitance in his brother's gestures makes him nod and look away. Scenarios and possible manoeuvers run through his mind as he trudges along, darting glares at the Knocker and struggling intermittently.

"You'll want to stop squirming when the boss sees you," says his captor, the archer from their last escapade. His grip on his arms his tightens, which makes Kíli struggle more just to be obnoxious.

The leader lets out a laugh, and shoots a dirty look at the archer. "He won't stop it just because you tell him to," he says, moving his gaze to the brunette. "You've got to give him some…incentive."

Kíli growls but stops wriggling, realising that the Men will have no mercy in enforcing their decisions. He isn't so much concerned for his safety, but if they so much as touch his brother's head he will rip them from limb to limb and dance on their remains.

He worries that this is a little overprotective, but it is the truth and he isn't one for lies. Good natured tricks, yes, and certainly jokes, but when it comes to serious lying he is absolutely rubbish. He would never joke about his brother's life, not when danger is so close.

They round a corner into a large, well lit cavern. There is a central, raised dais in the centre, with what seems to be a makeshift throne in the middle. Kíli finds this more than amusing, as it is less of a throne and more of a stool with wings and shiny paint.

Fíli shoots him a wry look, which he replies to with a little grin. Neither of them are impressed, although their captors do seem to be. Johnny Knocker isn't, though, and mockingly dances around the platform before jumping up and sitting on the chair. Kíli gets the feeling that he doesn't have much respect for whoever their leader is.

"Got to wait for their boss, sadly," he says, wriggling his toes. "I don't know why, you don't know why, they don't know why – nobody knows! Knock, knock, and nobody knows."

"Is he always like this?" Fíli asks, and the leader surprises them both by nodding grimly.

"Irritating little bugger." The burly man's voice is more gruff than usual, as though the Knocker is someone who is annoying but, regrettably, indispensable.

There's a cough from behind them, and Kíli cranes his neck to see another man standing just behind them, glaring at the Knocker on the chair. Johnny's eyes widen slightly, and he slips off before skipping over to stand in front of Fíli.

"Caught the Dwarves, your big Men did," he says, staring up at Fíli and raising his lantern. "I think they thought they were Hobbits, but no Hobbits over here. Not in these mountains, not in any mountains."

There is a rustling noise and the shadowy figure comes forward and Kíli gets a good look at him. He's as tall as the archer who is currently gripping Kíli's arms, with dark hair and steel grey eyes. Kíli doesn't know much about Men, but he looks nothing like the travellers and traders who sometimes come across from Bree. He is wearing dark leathers with a blue tabard, which is stained and dirty and clearly hasn't been kept well, as well as sturdy boots and hair tied back.

Kíli gives him a glare, not because of any grievance but more to get into the spirit of things. The man notices and laughs slightly, before giving him a condescending look and turning to the Knocker. Don't let me catch you on there again," he says threateningly, and Johnny skips away lightly, cackling all the while.

The man turns to the two Dwarves. "Where are my manners? Beras, Berad's son, at your most honourable service." He bows mockingly, a wicked glint in his eyes. "And who are my guests?"

"Fíli and Kíli," says Fíli shortly, omitting the rest of the traditional greeting, making it become immensely rude. Kíli would have applauded his audacity if his hands weren't behind his back.

Beras tilts his head and looks disappointed. "We can't play nicely, here? A little politeness goes a long way."

"What do you want?" Fíli demands.

Beras strolls forward and leans down until he is eye to eye with the blond, then grins widely. "I don't think you're in a position to be making demands, little Dwarf."

Fíli bristles visibly, so Kíli steps in – metaphorically. "Let us go, we haven't done anything to you."

Beras shakes his head sadly, turning to look at Kíli. "It isn't whether or not you've done anything to _me, _it's that you've seen what we're doing. That, and we don't like people who shoot at us."

"Your men chased us!"

"You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, there's no point denying that. If you had people walk into an operation of yours, would you let them out?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just straightens and wanders over to his dais and chair. "We're running a tight operation, and having strangers interfere is hardly safe. Tell you what, how about we strike a bargain?"

"We don't have anything," Fíli says quickly, and Kíli nods along with him.

"Oh, no, you do. You have skills." He draws out the last word as if it were a death threat, and Kíli frowns in confusion.

"What use are skills? We can't teach you anything, we have to be somewhere soon."

Beras chuckles. "Oh, they were right. Brilliant craftsmen, Dwarves, but not the sharpest knives in the drawer. No, we want you to apply your skills to our project."

"You want us to work for you," Fíli says slowly. His glare renews itself with equal fervour, joined quickly by Kíli's own.

Beras claps his hands. "And the coin drops," he says, voice dripping with derision. "Now, who do you report to? No one wanders these mountains without a reason, and you mentioned being 'somewhere soon'. Where?"

"What are you talking about? We aren't here – " Kíli is cut off by Fíli's swift glare.

"You attacked my men," Beras says silkily. "I don't think those are the actions of someone without a higher agenda."

Kíli blinks once, twice, before shaking his head and resigning himself to ignorance. He goes to speak again, but Fíli beats him to the mark.

"They attacked us when we went into the cave."

"Why would you go into the cave, if not to spy?"

"We…we went in because…we were thirsty and had no water left." Fíli's eyes light up slightly, a sure sign that he has a plan. "We couldn't find any."

Beras draws back, eyebrows shooting up into his shaggy fringe. Kíli can't tell whether or not he believes the lie, but for both their sakes he hopes he does. It's quite a good one, too, in his opinion. You can't argue with lack of water, it drives Men and Dwarves alike to do strange things.

"Who do you report to, and where are they?" Beras says regardless, pressing on with the line of attack.

"No one, but if I did they'd probably be dying of thirst in the woods." Fíli is really getting into his stride now, and is obviously taking immense enjoyment in riling up the brunette.

Beras spins around and paces angrily. "Fine, let's say you are acting on your own. What were you doing in these mountains?"

Fíli's grin widens, and Kíli finds himself grinning with him, anticipating the answer. "Looking for water because we were dying of thirst."

"And why were you here in the first place? The Dwarven settlements are further to the south."

Fíli winks. "Looking for sources of water, because we were all dying of thirst."

Kíli can barely contain his laughter, although he knows he really should. They are practically taunting death – this man could order his men to kill either of them in the blink of an eye. That's what makes it fun, though, it's what makes the thrill of adrenalin shoot through his veins and make his heartbeat race. Kíli loves every minute of it, and can tell that Fíli's enjoying himself overly as well.

Beras stalks forward and in one swift move, punches Fíli solidly in the jaw. Fíli's head snaps back, and he lets out a truly imaginative set of Khuzdul swear words. It's a good thing that Beras couldn't understand it, because if he could then there would be hell to pay.

Kíli surges forward, wrenching his arms from his captor's grip and spinning to deliver a bone shattering punch to the archer's gut. He puts all his strength in it, and when a Dwarf does so, not even walls can stop him.

"Recapture him!" snaps Beras, before hurrying off to the back of the room. Kíli takes advantage of this and ducks under the next man's arm to grab Fíli's elbow. With a sharp tug, aided by a devastating kneecap from Fíli, the blond Dwarf is out of the burly henchman's grip.

They fight back to back, using all the dirty fighting techniques they have ever learnt from nights in bar brawls and navigating more dangerous alleys. They are a whirlwind of movement – in one moment, Fíli is kicking the archer in the shin and in the next, Kíli is aiming a punch over his head to strike the same target in the gut.

They are quick and have trained hard at fighting, but the Men are twice their height and have the advantage of numbers. However, they seem to have entirely missed the concept of teamwork, as one man happily pulls back another to aim a – weak – punch at Fíli.

It's not pretty, but it's quick and sharp and fierce, so soon the two are standing there with only one conscious man left. It's the burly man who was holding Fíli, who is currently favouring one knee and glaring malevolently at the pair.

"Leave, now, and tell your coward of a boss that if we see him again, he will regret it," Fíli orders, using his Prince Voice. Even Kíli can't resist the Prince Voice. He turns tail and flees down a corridor, which Kíli takes to be the exit.

"Are you alright?" Kíli asks, pointing to Fíli's jaw, which is already developing an impressive bruise.

"It hurts a bit, but otherwise it's alright." He shrugs and grins. "I think I could get used to this."

"You only say that because they didn't draw their weapons," Kíli points out, although he realises how hypocritical he's being.

"Their loss."

Kíli meanders over and nudges the nearest man, leaning over to check whether any are conscious yet. "Come on, let's loot them," he says, kneeling down to rummage through the first man's pockets. "They might have a map or something."

"Where's the Knocker gone?" asks Fíli, ignoring him and looking around for the little miner.

Kíli freezes and then swears much as Fíli did. "We have to get out of here, he could bring the cave down on us."

Fíli grabs a torch, and the two of them shoot off down the corridor that the man ran down. The walls are larger than Kíli remembers, but that could well be due to the fact that last they traversed them, there were five Men hustling them along.

"Left here," Fíli says, and Kíli obediently follows. The tunnels twist and wind, and Kíli tries not to imagine what will happen if they get lost.

"What happens if we see the Knocker?" Kíli asks, boots crunching stones on the floor.

"We knock him out, and then we run."

Kíli can't disagree with his logic, so he just nods and keeps running. Light trickles in from the end of the tunnel, but it's flickering and dancing, so Kíli takes it to be an unsteady light source – perhaps the campfire they discovered in the main cavern.

"We'll be fine," says Fíli, seemingly reading Kíli's unsure thoughts. "We're Dwarves, we grew up in caves. No stupid Knocker is going to bring one down on us."

Kíli grins, and slaps his brother lightly around the head. "Not on me, can't say the same for you."

"Hey, if it hoodwinks me it hoodwinks you."

Banter distracts the both of them from the reality of their situation, and is something they learnt to do at an early age. During lessons, during brawls, when one was sad or something had gone wrong. Banter is safe and reliable; it doesn't have to be funny, it just has to take all of their thoughts and focus them on a single thing – insulting the other.

Thankfully, that is something that all siblings are notoriously good at.

"I think you must've been swapped at birth, because clearly we aren't related," Fíli says, grinning wickedly.

"Get out of my sight! You're infecting my eyes just looking at your ugly mug." Kíli shoves Fíli to the side, straight into a wall. He hits it straight on, and there is an odd clanking noise before a section of the wall falls away to reveal a large, open cave.

Kíli's jaw drops, speechless. "Did you just? Did we? Did I?"

"Look!" Fíli cries, pointing inwards with one finger. "It's the ponies! Red and Arrow! And our gear as well, this must be the treasure chamber!"

They both rush forward, jostling each other to get to their missing ponies. Red looks up first, drowsily but with more energy as she recognises the two Dwarves. With a light whinny, she nudges Arrow into movement and tries to move forward to the two, but is stopped short by a rope similar to the one she had been tied up with last time.

"Kíli, watch the door," Fíli orders, and Kíli does so, not wanting to fall into the same kind of trap as they did last time. Johnny Knocker probably knows their exact location, and Kíli doesn't want to know exactly how many reinforcements Beras actually has.

Fíli goes about untying the horses, and shortly Arrow comes over to nudge Kíli in the side of the neck. He reaches up a hand and brushes down her mane, letting her nuzzle him for a second or two before moving over to grab his gear from Fíli.

"There's a lot of other stuff here as well," he says, motioning to the rest of the pile of equipment. "Do we take any of that?"

Fíli shakes his head. "I don't think it's a good idea – we don't know where those have been."

"We don't know where _these _have been," Kíli points out, but accepts the point. He has heard of cursed objects before, fell treasures made to beguile and deceive, and has no intent of falling prey to one.

They make sure they have all their things, then peer out into the corridor once again. Fíli motions to go on, and so leads the way. They try to stay silent; it would do them no good to be caught once again, not another time.

The catacombs are confusing, winding around this way and that until finally Fíli gives up and leans back against a wall.

"I can't do it," he says, "we're lost. We don't have a marking stone, we don't know where we are, and I'm pretty sure that there's no way to get us out of this mess."

Kíli laughs out loud. "Don't be stupid, if we keep walking maybe we'll find an exit! Staying here isn't doing anyone any favours. Come on, up you get. Here, there should still be an apple or two in my bag, check the outermost left pocket. Near the fiddle."

"Still can't believe you convinced us to bring those things," Fíli grumbles, but his eyes lighten and the frown lines disappear somewhat. Kíli's glad, because he doesn't like it when his brother loses confidence and gives up. There's something so distinctly un-Fíli-like about it, as though admitting defeat is not something that should ever have to come out of his mouth.

"It's culture," says Kíli primly, echoing their mother at her most dignified. "Hurry up, we've got places to be and people to see, so let's get ourselves out of these blasted caves and out into the wild. Maybe we'll even find a shortcut, so we'll be closer!"

Fíli throws him a fond look, which is returned by a slap to the arm and a shove in the back until he gets moving. "You're an idiot."

"But I'm a likeable one, isn't that right?"

Fíli sighs and shakes his head. "Yes, I suppose you are. Now hurry up, we're dawdling! Get moving!"

Kíli skips ahead and grins widely before trying to navigate his way back to the – literal – light at the end of the tunnel.

**A/N: …hi?**

**Procrastination entirely, I'm sorry. Please accept my heartiest apologies and internet cookies as amends (bribery). It shouldn't happen again. Probably. Hope you like this chapter, there's only two chapters and maybe an epilogue left now!**

**- Bronwyn**


	9. Malachite

**Chapter Nine: Malachite**

The glow coming from the end of the twining tunnel became steadily brighter, and with it Fíli's outlook on their situation. He knows Kíli doesn't worry at all, he never does, but Fíli has more responsibility and with it, a slight anxiety issue. He hides it well, wrapping it up in layers of confidence and surety and good humour, but deep down he's always worrying about one thing or another. He's learnt to deal with it.

Kíli skips forward, not unlike a child anticipating a treat. His grin is wide and his stride wider, and Fíli finds himself speeding up to match his pace. Their height difference doesn't help either, although having to look after a pony as well keeps Kíli from running off entirely.

He doesn't take up Kíli's offer of an apple, because as much as he likes the fruit he also likes to keep his wits about him, and he knows that he won't have time to finish the entire thing before something else happens to the two of them. Light may mean an exit, but it also heralds danger. Beras and his little Knocker minion are still haunting the mines somewhere.

They turn a final corner and suddenly there they are, standing at the entrance to the same campfire hosting cave that the discovered earlier. Fíli doesn't know how long they've been wandering, or how long they were unconscious, but judging by the appearance of piles of firewood, it's been a while.

"We're back at the – the spiral cave," Kíli says softly, and Fíli can't help but agree with the name. It is a bit of a spiral cave, even if the tunnels radiating out from it are well worn and need better upkeep.

"Which tunnel got us out of here?" he asks, looking around for his markings and hoping that they haven't rubbed off already, or that the Men found them. He can't even remember if he marked it, and hopes that he did. It would be horrible to be stuck so close to freedom.

Kíli shuts his eyes and Fíli knows he is mapping the place in his head, trying to figure out which tunnels they took and which one was next to the entrance corridor. "We went into a little room with tools, remember? It should be the tunnel to the left of it."

Fíli nods and gestures for Kíli to search the rooms on the other side. He doesn't know if splitting up is such a good idea, but they'll cover more ground in less time, which is something they don't have an abundance of.

Two rooms later, he hears a sudden yell from Kíli and instinctively draws his right sword, knowing that Kíli wouldn't risk their necks just because he's found the right tunnel. In an instant he is peering around the exit of the tunnel leading out of the little room he was searching, and sees a sight he never wants to see again.

Beras has a long dagger pressed to Kíli's throat, with his other arm gripping Kíli's behind his back in a painful hold. Fíli isn't stupid – one wrong move and Beras will slit his brother's throat, but until he makes demands then Fíli doesn't know what he's supposed to do. He is in entirely the wrong position to launch an attack, and if Beras is here then chances are the Knocker will be lurking around somewhere as well.

"Come out, Master Dwarf," says Beras mockingly, looking around to try and spot the head of golden hair. "You know what will happen if you don't." The blade twitches, and Kíli scowls ferociously and glares up and the Man.

"I'm coming!" Fíli says, sheathing his sword and raising his hands in surrender. He moves into the light, eyes fixed on Kíli. His fingers twitch slightly, making almost imperceptible signs, and Kíli's eyes relax.

I have a plan. It's going to be alright.

"Ah, yes, and which one are you?" Beras asks, clearly unable to discern which Dwarf is which.

"Fíli," he replies shortly. "Let him go."

"I don't think so." He lets out a truly repulsive laugh, one which makes Fíli's hands itch towards his blades. "I saw what you did back there – very nice work. I think I have use for you two."

"If you think we'll do anything for you, then you're wrong!" Fíli says fiercely, but it only makes Beras tilt his head to the side slightly.

"Oh? And if I do this?" The blade jumps.

Fíli jumps as well, but Kíli shoots him a rather scathing look. Clearly he isn't impressed by Fíli's twitchiness. Fíli can't help it – there's a _knife _at his neck, and he isn't taking any chances with safety in case Beras does decide to lose the leverage. Logically, Fíli knows he won't, and logically, he knows that his brother is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but _damn it _he's scared and worried and not in the mood for taking chances.

"Let him go!"

Beras just laughs and shakes his head. "Not until I have your word that you will do as I ask."

There's a moment of tense silence, a still tension that makes the hair on Fíli's neck stand on end. Then, in one swift movement, Kíli reaches up and wrenches Beras' knife away from his throat, ducking down and _pulling _so that his captor flips head over heels and lands on the ground.

They tumble into a messy fist fight, until Kíli rolls away and draws his sword from its sheath. Beras pulls another dagger from a hidden sheath in his jerkin, two blades ready to be used against either Dwarf. He may have smaller weapons, but he has the advantage of size, something which both Dwarves lack.

Fíli takes it as his cue to draw his own sword, but finds his hand suddenly in a tight fisted grip. He looks around and down, noticing Johnny Knocker grinning up at him once again.

"I knocked, and you didn't answer," he says cheekily, before being backhanded by Fíli and launched across the cavern.

Fíli moves to help Kíli with Beras, but the brunette shakes his head at the Knocker, clearly indicating that Fíli should take care of little Johnny. Fíli doesn't know Beras' skill with a blade, but hopes that it isn't much as he doesn't want Kíli to get injured while he's keeping Johnny away.

But Johnny has disappeared as quickly as he appeared, and Fíli just knows that he isn't going to stop popping in and out until he is unable to do so. He's a Dwarf, he knows about Knockers. They are fairly harmless on their own, but they can be devastating in a team with another.

Beras throws himself forward, both daggers aimed for Kíli's heart, but Kíli steps aside easily and parries both with his sword. Taking the initiative, he drops down into a crouch and kicks out with his leg, slamming into Beras' kneecap and making him trip over backwards. Before Fíli can call out congratulations on the well-executed move, however, Beras is up again and coming at his prone brother.

Kíli ducks underneath Beras' dagger again, but Beras is expecting such a trick and slices across with his other hand, a move that would have killed Kíli if he had been but three inches shorter. As it is, it cuts across the leather over his chest, not drawing blood but making Kíli stumble backwards.

"Is that the best you've got?" Kíli taunts, grinning manically and readying his sword. They go for each other again, but Fíli is distracted by the appearance of Johnny Knocker once again.

"Over here, young Dwarf!" he says cheerfully, swinging his lantern. "Come, come, and catch me if you can! But run, run, or you'll die to the little man!"

Fíli tries to reach him, but he's there and gone in a blink of an eye. Fíli doesn't know how he does it – perhaps it's some connection with the mine, or he's just very, very quick.

He looks around wildly, but there's no sign of the Knocker, so he turns back to nervously watching Kíli and Beras' small scale war.

Kíli is moving quickly, but with a distinctly Dwarven steadiness to it. He raises his sword to block one of Beras' daggers before pushing it away and returning it with a thrust of his own. Beras dodges, and the sword cuts through the air where he was standing. Kíli presses his advantage, dealing a succession of powerful blows that keeps Beras on his toes as he parries each of them, using both daggers to keep back the sword.

Suddenly, Beras made a daring leap to the side, a move which made Kíli wobble forward and leave his side open. He reels back in, trying to rectify his mistake, but not before Beras gets a neat opportunity to try and skewer him on his knives.

He would have, too, if the sudden appearance of two steady swords hadn't blocked both.

"I can take him!" Kíli protested loudly as Fíli begins to move forwards, parrying Beras' blows rapidly and accurately, getting in some decent hits himself.

"I know you can!" Fíli growls back. "But two against two is better. Watch for the Knocker!"

Kíli moves to try and help, but Fíli shoots him an uncompromising glance. Johnny Knocker has the potential to make both of them lose their fight through distraction alone, and he isn't taking a risk as great as that just to have the dangerous Man defeated faster.

Fíli adjusts his stance so that he is on his toes then rocks forward in a bold manoeuvre, slashing forward with one sword in line with Beras' torso and the other a few inches higher. The brunette leaps back, but Fíli matches his move, slicing his swords with speed that comes with skill. Beras twirls his knives fluidly then drops them into a cross, catching Fíli's right sword in the X formed. He abruptly slams them out again, which sends Fíli's sword out in an odd, curving arc.

Fíli leaves him no time to pursue the advantage, though, as he follows the curve motion and swings his leg around, catching Beras in the back of the legs. Beras is down in seconds, his legs scythed out from under him.

He quickly places a sword at the man's throat, using the other to catch the daggers at their hilts and nimbly flick them from his grasp. Beras doesn't struggle, not much, just glares up at him with little fear in his eyes.

"Fíli!" Kíli says, and he looks over briefly to see his brother holding Johnny Knocker up by the scruff of the neck, who is glaring at the Dwarf with such intensity that Fíli is surprised he doesn't burst into flame there and then. "What should I do with him?"

"Knock him out and lock him in one of the rooms," Fíli directs, nodding to the tunnels spanning out around the cave. Kíli nods and gives the Knocker a well-placed punch in the forehead. There'll be an impressive bruise there later, but Fíli can't find it in himself to care.

He looks down at Beras and gives him a calculating look. "Give me one reason why I should spare your life."

Beras laughs mockingly. "You wouldn't."

"Not good enough." Fíli presses the sword in just that little bit more, so that a bead of blood pools at the tip.

"Listen, you're a good fighter, but you haven't got the courage," Beras says, giving him a flat look, equal parts taunting and blunt. "So just move the sword and we'll both go on our merry ways."

He reaches up and pushes the sword away lightly with a finger, but Fíli quickly places his other sword against his throat, taking the previous one's place.

"No, I don't think so. What are you doing here?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Fíli stares at him, unsure whether or not the man is fully aware of his situation. "Because if you don't, I'll make you."

"Alright, alright," Beras says. He waves his hands pacifyingly, and looks him in the eyes. "We're mining these catacombs, my men and I. They got kicked out of Bree for unruly misconduct or something like that. You know how they are, all brawn-no brains. Picked them up, gave them a contract, and they were in for the count."

"Why are you this far north, then? Why not stay at that cavern we passed a few leagues back?"

"That cave isn't safe to keep things in. We have our base of operations here, and return here every once in a while from that one." He notices Fíli's disbelief and raises his hands again. "Honest, I swear. Anyway, it's good practice. We've got Johnny Knocker to watch our stuff while we're mining."

"You've never mined once in your life," Fíli scoffs, and Beras just shrugs, making no move to deny it.

"I'm their supervisor," he says unashamedly. "Brains of the operation, you follow?"

"Awfully chatty for a leader," Kíli puts in cheerily, wandering up from behind Fíli. He's swinging his sword almost absently, staring into the flames of the campfire as if they held the secrets of the universe. It's somehow disturbing in its confidence and in its disinterest, and Fíli wonders if Kíli learnt it from him.

"I value my life." The answer is blunt and forthright, and Fíli doesn't doubt him, the coward.

"How did you find these caves?"

"Same way you did – accident and luck. Marvellous thing, coincidence. Gives you all sorts of opportunities."

"He's very wordy for a criminal," Kíli says, leaning over to peer down at Beras. "What's your story?"

"Did a few things I shouldn't have, you know how it is these days." Beras sighs and rolls his eyes. "Really, one little disagreement and people start calling you all sorts of things. Just goes to show how ridiculously righteous some people can be."

"You got into a brawl and hurt someone you shouldn't have," Fíli translates, then sighs. "Alright. Kíli, grab all his weapons, then we'll let him go."

Kíli's head jerks up. "What? Just like that?"

"He didn't actually hurt us," Fíli reasons, but Kíli is having none of it.

"He tried to kill us both!"

"But he didn't, did he? Kíli, we can't just kill him while he's lying there, it's dishonourable."

Kíli doesn't argue further, but he does manage to strip Beras of his weaponry while exuding an aura of righteous fury. Fíli knows it'll blow over soon; Kíli is merciful, it's just his pride that is wounded at the moment.

Beras watches them both with a casual eye. "You realise how big a risk you're taking here? What's to stop me finding other weapons and coming after you?"

"Kíli, did you see rope in those rooms?" asks Fíli, nodding to the caves his brother just vacated.

"Yes, should I go get it? Are we going to tie him up?" Kíli looks a little too happy about this revelation.

"Only to stop him coming after us."

Kíli nods, and quickly goes off to find the rope. Fíli knows there's some around somewhere, he can remember seeing it before, but he's a little too busy threatening a Man to get up and search for it. Also, he has a willing errand boy, so why waste energy?

"Got it!"

Fíli gives the twine in Kíli's hands a cursory glance before nodding and putting a boot on Beras' chest so he can sheath his swords. "My knots are better than yours, let me do it."

"Wouldn't it be easier if he was unconscious?" he asks, and Fíli considers this over in his mind.

"No, no, it really wouldn't," says Beras hurriedly. "Look, I'll stay still, just don't knock me out."

Fíli gives him a disbelieving look, and he adds, "Headaches, you know?"

Kíli just shrugs and orders him not to wriggle while Fíli ties his hands behind his back. Beras complies with surprisingly little movement, and they have him trussed up and ready within minutes.

"Watch out for Johnny," he says as a parting piece of advice. "Nasty little thing, holds a grudge like you wouldn't believe."

"What do you know of Knockers?" Kíli asks curiously, but he doesn't get an answer before Fíli is pulling him back out into the campfire cave.

"Where's the ponies?"

"Next room along."

They rescue the ponies – that's really all they seem to be doing this trip – and Kíli points to the next tunnel along. "It's that one, I'm positive. All the others led to rooms except the one we came in through."

Fíli hopes that Kíli is right as he leads the way, lighting a torch off the fire and peering into the gloom. It's similar to what he remembers the tunnel being like, smoothened out and curving off at the end, so he takes a breath and begins to walk forward. Kíli follows him, hand clenched tight on Arrow's reins and another torch in his other hand.

They walk for ages, traversing tunnel upon tunnel by Fíli's remaining marks. He's surprised they are still there, to be honest, but he takes that as a sign that they haven't been off course for too long. It wouldn't do to be late, especially to such an important meeting.

They don't speak for a long while, Fíli focusing on navigating their path through the treacherous catacombs and Kíli intent on keeping Red and Arrow under control, which is harder than it sounds considering that they've been handled by uncaring strangers, missed a few meals, and altogether been pushed beyond boundaries that any pony should have to break.

Fíli can sympathise.

The tunnels become lighter, and so becomes the brothers' steps. The dankness of the caves gives way to a fresher, earthier smell and Kíli lets out a little whoop from behind him. Fíli extends a hand, grounding himself against the dampness of the cave walls and the familiar feel of the excited brunette pushing at him to go faster. Even the ponies seem happy, as Red gives a little whinny and Arrow returns it loudly.

When the first shaft of sunlight hits him, Fíli can't quite believe that the heat on his face is really clear, honest-to-Aulë sunlight. It's a brilliant feeling, one that Fíli thinks he doesn't appreciate enough now. Kíli laughs, a wide, rich sound that is quickly joined by Fíli's own.

The feel of grass beneath his boots and wind in his face is enough to make Fíli grab Kíli by the arm and drag him up beside him, throwing his arm out flamboyantly to gesture to the expanse of forest in front and below them.

"Bring me the horizon!" he declares loudly, then leaps up on to Red and nudges her into movement. "We're off to see a wizard!"

**A/N: Quick one this time! Thank you to everyone, and I'm glad this story hasn't lost its appeal!**

**In answer to a review I missed last chapter, I capitalise race names because that's how Tolkien did it in the books. 'Men' and 'Man' are a little flexible, but when one is capitalised I do so to emphasise that I am referring to the race, as opposed to the gender description. Hope that helped, Nonnie!**

**- Bronwyn**


	10. Howlite

**Chapter Ten: Howlite**

"How long until we get there?"

"A few days, probably. It's a while yet."

"Oh." Kíli is silent for a while, before asking, "Where is this 'Bag End' that Thorin told us about?"

"It's wherever the Wizard has marked it to be," Fíli replies, which doesn't help Kíli very much. He suspects this is on purpose, knowing Fíli. His older brother can be remarkably prickly when he wants to be.

They are riding across a large expanse of green hills, having left the mountain ranges far behind them. Small copses still scatter the hillside, but the trees are smaller and lighter, letting in bright shafts of sunlight that give the area a soft green glow. Kíli throws back his head, smiling happily as the sun warms his features.

It's a tranquil area, vastly different from the mountains behind them. Acres upon acres of rolling hills, and Kíli finds himself thinking of rolling, rollicking fiddle tunes that match perfectly with it. He begins to whistle one or two absently, scratching Arrow's neck. Thinking on it, he decides that perhaps the fiddle doesn't quite match. The Shire, for he thinks they are getting close enough to label it that, needs something lighter, something quieter and more peaceful than a cheerful violin. Maybe a flute, he should ask Bofur about it next they see him.

"Oi, Kíli, look lively," says Fíli suddenly, pointing up at the horizon. "Look over there, is that a rider?"

Kíli narrows his eyes, squinting in the direction that Fíli is indicating. There's a black spot, moving fairly rapidly, and it does look like a man on a horse. "I don't know, maybe. I've heard there are Rangers or something patrolling the areas around the Shire, although I thought they were closer to Bree."

Fíli scowls. "Not doing a very good job of it, judging by those thugs we saw. Come on, let's take another way."

"What? Why?" Kíli asks, confused. "Shouldn't we warn him about the caverns?"

"I suspect he is already aware. Come!" Fíli turns Red around slightly, and Kíli follows, but he knows that if the Ranger wants to find them, it doesn't matter where they are. They are professional trackers and protectors, and he and Fíli simply do not have the experience to evade them.

They see neither hide nor hair of the Ranger that day, but mid-afternoon of the day after Fíli spots him again, this time closer than the last.

"He isn't after us," he assures Kíli. "Look, he's riding back towards where we're headed. It must have been just a scouting mission."

"That makes sense." Kíli grins. "Does that mean we don't have to take any detours? Because I know you were very close to getting lost."

Fíli affixes him with a look so like their mother's that Kíli is genuinely afraid for a moment. "Kíli, I was not lost. I was re-orienting myself, getting my bearing straight."

"You were stalling," he replies, and shakes his head as Fíli moves to answer. "Do not deny it, I know you were. You can't fool me, I've seen you lost enough times to know the difference."

"That was one time!" Fíli says exasperatedly. "Now focus, Arrow is getting jittery."

Kíli notices this as well, and moves to comfort the poor pony. She's been through a lot, as has Red, and he feels the obligation to make it up to her. He really does like Arrow, despite knowing that he'll probably have to let her go at some point in the journey, and is determined to make sure that she doesn't get too many more scares until they reach proper Hobbiton.

"How are we supposed to find this Mister Boggins' house?" he asks, scratching Arrow's mane again. "I know, I know, the Wizard will have marked it, but…the Shire looked large. Are we meant to search the entire area?"

"I'm sure there'll be some way to tell," Fíli says diplomatically, but Kíli knows a bluff when he sees one. He lets it go, however, knowing that bugging Fíli won't make him think. He never does anyway, why should now be any different?

Kíli looks off into the distance again, trying to spot where the rider has disappeared to. He does it subtly; he doesn't want Fíli to pick up on his tension, although he suspects that he already has. The Ranger, if that's who he was, wouldn't just let them pass without observation. It is, after all, security, and the Rangers take their job very, very seriously.

"Stop worrying, I'm sure he's already given us a thorough check," Fíli laughs, dismissing Kíli's fears when he voices them aloud a while later. "I haven't seen anything that would pose a problem, so I think we should keep riding until something proves suspicious."

Kíli resists the urge to slap his brother. "That's not what I'm asking!"

Fíli turns to him and gives him a more serious glance. "I know. But there's nothing I can do about it, so until he shows himself, we ignore him, alright? It would do you more good to focus on our current surroundings than worry about possible, future threats, anyway."

"I was," he admits, "but now I'm too excited to think about how pretty the rocks are or how blue the sky is."

"Then calm down and give yourself some time. The Ranger is just a security guard, he probably sees Dwarves travelling through all the time. No need to worry." The last words are delivered with far more confidence than before, and despite his better knowledge, Kíli believes them.

He turns his attention to the scenery. He thinks he can see the outlines of smoke whispers in the distance, while look to be from chimneys coming out of the hills themselves. Maybe the Hobbits live underground as well? That would be interesting. Imagine if they did! Tunnelling into the hillside, making their own little catacombs and houses in the sure, steady confidence that comes with not being exposed to the elements. He must ask how they build such a thing, if they really do live like that.

The Downs ahead of them look far more inviting than they should, and Kíli feels a little shiver of anticipation. He hopes they cut through that route, rather than just skim the tree line, because there is so much more in there that they could explore. As beautiful as the Shire is, it is startlingly boring. Hobbits must like their comfort.

"Are we going through the Downs?" he asks, curiously poking a finger at the darkened area in the distance.

"No, I think it will be better to go east until we reach the Green Way and then cut directly north to the East Road. Hobbiton is just north of there, and it should be a safer ride for the ponies," Fíli explains. Kíli pulls a face, but accepts that it probably is the best course. No more adventures for them.

He opens his mouth to ask another question, but before he can speak there is a loud whistle and the sound of hooves from ahead. Kíli tenses up, peering around to see the whistler, and is relieved when rather than stick to the shadows, a grizzled man on a chestnut horse crests the hill and rides over to them.

"Good morning, Master Ranger!" Fíli calls, clearly recognising the strange character from before. "We were wondering when you were going to inspect us. Has there been trouble?"

The Ranger shakes his head with a small, grim smile. "No trouble, not yet. Merely searching for undesirables. Halobrand, my name is, and you are right, I am of the Rangers."

"Fíli," Fíli begins, on which Kíli follows,

"And Kíli." They omit 'at your service', because while they do wish to be polite, it simply is not the time and place for formalities. "What can we do for you?"

Halobrand gives them both appraising looks. "What are two Dwarves doing so far from their homes?"

"We're going to meet a friend," Fíli says easily. "He has promised to introduce us to another of _his _friends, who is a Hobbit in Hobbiton. We thought we could meet them, then go on to Bree and look for work."

Halobrand considers this then nods, shrugging his shoulders. "Fair enough. You hardly seem of evil intentions."

"We do have some news you may wish to hear, though," Fíli continues, sailing on as though he wasn't interrupted at all. "We came across a band of Men not four days ago, who we gathered had been outcasts of Bree. Are these the folk you're looking for?"

"Who were they?" Halobrand looks curious, but there's a tinge of something else in his expression that makes Kíli feel as though they might have run into something more than they first thought.

"A group of outlaws from Bree," Fíli explains. "We found them in the catacombs in the Blue Mountains, south of us. They were led by a man called Beras, have you heard of him?"

Halobrand frowns, and dismounts from his horse. He is nearly on eye level with them like that, which makes Kíli feel quite insignificant. "Yes, word has been sent around. He committed several crimes in Bree, but fled before we could catch up to him. The Rangers are watching out for him and his men in case they try to do anything in the Shire. What happened?"

"We left them unconscious and bloody in a cave, with Beras tied up in another set of caves. We didn't kill them, but I don't think they were planning on coming near the Shire."

The grizzled young man frowns, worry creasing his brow and making him look older than he is. "How can you be sure of that? Beras bears a grudge, and grudges do not tend to disappear overnight."

Kíli frowns as well, exchanging a confused glance with Fíli. "He didn't appear vengeful, just opportunistic and immoral."

Halobrand shakes his head, running a hand through his hair in an expression of weariness. "Yes, he is like that. Not a trace of a conscience, the poor soul. He is very intelligent, in a twisted kind of way, but he uses it for all the wrong ends."

"What did he do?" Fíli asks warily.

"Heinous crimes," is all Halobrand has to say on the subject, so neither Dwarf pursues that line of question any further. The Man changes the subject, saying, "Is there anything I can do for you? You've helped me greatly – we'd been wondering where Beras had ended up, and if he's holed up in those mountains then it's far better than the alternative."

Fíli doesn't answer immediately, so Kíli replies, "No, thank you, we are just travelling. We have no need of aid, but we appreciate your offer."

Halobrand nods, drawing himself up unto his horse again and straightening his sword in the sheath on his side. "Very well, I wish you the best of luck on your journey. How far is it to the caves you spoke of?"

"Not far, only a few days ride," Fíli says, pointing in the direction of the mountains. "If you ride hard, you should be able to make it in a day or two."

Halobrand nods, thanks them again, and rides off, with both Fíli and Kíli watching him go. Kíli finds it a little amusing. The Rangers are such serious individuals, and although this one was less taciturn than most Kíli suspects that there isn't a light hearted bone in his body.

They continue on, Fíli remaining quiet and Kíli more interested in his thoughts than exchanging conversation with his brother. He's curious as to what Mr. Boggins will be like, and whether or not he really will be as good a burglar as the Wizard seems to think he will be. Kíli hasn't met many burglars, unless Nori counts, but he doesn't know Nori very well and either way, Nori is kept on the straight and narrow by his two brothers.

They first begin to see signs of habitation the next day, early in the morning after about an hour and a half's ride. There are fields, mostly of corn but also of other, unknown vegetables that reach well above their heads, even on horses. They skirt around them, wary of getting lost in the maze of green and gold. Kíli almost hops off his horse and runs in, but Fíli gives him the Look and he stays seated.

Kíli feels like laughing at one point, simply because everything is so clear and bright and reminds him of everything that home should mean. It's an incredible feeling, a kind of elation that bursts through the surface to become something larger, something energetic that makes his movements quick and his smile quicker.

It has the adverse effect on Fíli, who becomes more sated and quiet and just generally _smiley_. He looks around with something approaching fondness, which makes Kíli laugh louder and Fíli smile further. The good mood of the Shire is infectious, it seems.

Kíli's fingers itch to take out his fiddle and play something, but once again he has the feeling that whatever he plays won't fit the feel of the air around him. He could never quite capture the mix of intense emotion and quiet serenity, that contradiction that makes both Dwarves act differently.

Fíli glances over at him, and he shoots him a chirpy smile that makes Fíli roll his eyes and say, "You can't just have one moment of peace, can you?"

"It's so alive!" Kíli protests. "I can't just sit there and be fond like you can. It's…different for me."

"I know," he replies, "trust me, I know. Half of me wants to act as you do, and the other half just wants to go inside, eat a good meal, and then fall asleep under a tree."

Kíli grins, waving his arms around frenetically. "Yes, exactly!" He continues to make large gestures, enjoying the feeling of just throwing his arms around wildly, but Fíli grabs his wrist and stops him.

"Stop it, you'll scare people," he laughs, letting go and turning back to the track. "Come on, we must be getting close to proper Hobbiton. You could help, you know."

Kíli tries his best, but eventually both of them just give up on their sense of direction and ask a kindly old Hobbit woman for directions.

"Hobbiton?" she asks, brushing down her skirt and pointing across at a series of hills to the north. "That way, it's just along this road. It leads directly to the centre of Hobbiton, where there should be a large market. Are you visiting someone?"

"Yes, a Mister Boggins of," Kíli glances at Fíli, a mocking look that makes Fíli glare at him, "Bag End."

The Hobbit woman nods knowingly. "Oh, yes, my mother's second cousin twice removed's husband was his father's mother in law's cousin's grandson. A most respectable Hobbit." She eyes them warily. "You aren't going to do anything to him, are you?"

"Oh, no, we're just visiting," Fíli says quickly. "He's a friend of a friend, you know? We felt that it would be a shame to pass this way without saying hello. Terribly bad manners."

Kíli smothers a chuckle, and the Hobbit woman nods, smiling again. "It's nice to see good manners in the younger generations," she says approvingly. "I hope you find him well. Tell him Dolly Boffin asked about him, will you?"

"I will, ma'am," Fíli says, nodding and smiling back. "Thank you."

They go off again, this time following the directions and making it to Hobbiton by the afternoon. It is as quiet as a mouse, and Kíli assumes that the Hobbits are all having an afternoon nap. Hobbits, as far as they have seen, seem to be a very quiet, peaceful folk, uninterested in the outside world. He doubts that Mrs. Boffin even knew that they were Dwarves, despite knowing that they definitely weren't Hobbits. Neither of them owns a waistcoat.

They spend that night in Hobbiton, knowing that they aren't expected until the 25th, which is the next day. Kíli spends the time chattering with the various Hobbits that come in and out of the little bed and breakfast that they found. He doesn't see much of Fíli, who is looking after Red and sharpening his weapons. Kíli knows he should be doing the same, as they might not have time if the pace that the company adopts is too fast, but he honestly cannot be bothered. The Hobbits are so friendly, and it seems a shame to waste the opportunity.

The next afternoon, Fíli asks the directions to Mr. Boggins' house of the innkeeper, and finds that it's just outside of Hobbiton. With a cheerful grin, the two start to look around for the Wizard's mark. Neither of them knows what it is, but they'll know it when they see it, Kíli's sure of it. They're expected that night, as well, so with the head start he's positive they'll find it in time.

Sure enough, after finding the approximate area in which it's located in, it's almost startling how quickly they find it. Night has settled in, a dark blanket only broken by light coming from the little Hobbit holes scattered around the hills. The mark is clearly visible on the bright green door, and Fíli raises his hand to ring the bell.

One second.

Voices are heard clearly inside, and unless Kíli is very much mistaken that is Balin chattering on. Perhaps they're late. He hopes they aren't.

Two seconds.

Footsteps can be heard from behind the door, rather hard, frustrated ones that suggest that whoever they belong to is not very happy about whatever he's doing.

Three seconds.

The sound of a latch being unlocked mingle with a muffled sigh, and the door is pulled open with a heave.

"Fíli,"

"And Kíli,"

"At your service!"

**A/N: And so the story ends. Thank you to all, everyone who did anything to do with this story, whether it be read, reviewed, favourited or followed. There is one more chapter - the end is nigh! – but that is just an epilogue, so this marks what should be considered the End, capital E.**

**I may or may not be writing an AU for this fandom, provided I can get my ideas in to a coherent plot structure. I'm not finished with our lovely Dwarves and resident Hobbit, though, so keep an eye out! I shall return!**

**- Bronwyn**


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Lepidolite**

"How was the journey here?" Thorin asks later that night, when most of the Dwarves have nodded off and only he, Balin, Dwalin, Gandalf, and Fíli and Kíli remain awake. Fíli and Kíli are seated on the floor next to the hearth, both clasping empty mugs to their chests and smirking at each other intermittently. Balin is half awake in one of Bilbo Baggins' armchairs, and Dwalin is sitting in the chair next to Thorin's watching the boys.

Fíli looks up and gives him a confused look. "What? What journey?"

"The trip between the Blue Mountains and the Shire," Thorin says patiently, and Dwalin chuckles at Fíli's inebriation. "Did you make it safely, or did you run into any dangers?"

Fíli exchanges a glance with Kíli, who grins widely and nods enthusiastically. "We found a massive cave of mithril and then shot someone and then they shot us – or was it the other way around? – and then we found the ponies and saw lots of trees but there was another cave and this one had a little man who knocked Fíli out with a lantern – or was it an axe? I don't know – but we didn't get out until we knocked out a big man as well as the little man, actually we knocked out a lot of men – it was heroic, wasn't it, Fíli? – and then rode off into the sunset except it was mid-afternoon not sunset so we didn't really ride off into the sunset."

"Is this true?" Thorin asks Fíli, not entirely sure that Kíli is telling the truth, making up a story, or too drunk to tell the difference between either.

"The little man was an Elf and the big man was a Dragon," says Fíli seriously, then laughs uproariously and toasts with Kíli. "And we met a Ranger who chased the Dragon and lived happily ever after!"

"You'd be better asking them in the morning," says Balin with a little chuckle. "If they had any more to drink they'd come out the other end of drunk and go straight to stone cold sobriety."

Thorin sighs, but he can't argue with Balin because Balin is right. Balin is always right.

"I wouldn't ask them in the morning," Dwalin says with a large smirk. "They won't be answering anything with the headache they'll have."

Gandalf, who has taken to making smoke ships sail over the sleeping Dwarves' heads, lets out a chuckle. "Dwalin tells the truth. I would be very surprised if either one is laughing before ten."

A companionable silence descends, but for Fíli and Kíli's giggling and assorted Dwarven snores.

Suddenly, Fíli speaks up once again, poking at his foot in an odd, distracted sort of way. The expression on his face is not unlike that of a lost puppy, only far more pathetic and almost humourous.

"There's a stone in my boot."


End file.
